interview-4

The following is an excerpt from “Cliburn co-winner takes a quick break from coping with ‘Nobu fever’ with Cowtown Visit” by Barry Schlachter as printed in the Star-Telegram on Tuesday, August 4, 2009. This article is no longer available on the web, but the excerpt is included in the pamphlet that comes with the DVD of  “A Surprise in Texas.”

Quick to smile anyway, Nobuyuki Tsujii stepped out of the Neiman Marcus dressing room and beamed a 1,000 watt grin, letting his entourage – two agents, four department store employees, two Cliburn Foundation staffers, a representative of his Japanese record label and his mother – know he had found the perfect performance gear: a crepe wool tuxedo by Armani with a retro, 50’s style shawl collar at $2,700.

The 20-year-old blind Japanese pianist was in Fort Worth for one night last week after a concert at Colorado’s Aspen Music Festival.  He came to be outfitted – part of a $5,000 wardrobe allowance gifted by Neiman’s for becoming a co-gold medalist in the 2009 Van Cilburn International Piano Competition – and to discuss concert scheduling.

It was all a break from the crush of Japanese media attention, known in his homeland as ‘Nobu fever’, that erupted immediately after his June Victory.

Tsujii, who is clearly relishing the newfound notoriety, told the Star-Telegram: “I don’t think I myself have changed because of the ‘fever.’  But it has come as a surprise, I did not know I had become so famous and now, with so many offers to perform, I have to say ‘no’ for the first time.”

Though classical music is more popular in Japan than in many other countries, there has never been anything like the mania there over a homegrown concert musician before, his agent said.  National newspapers reported his Cliburn win on the front page – the fact that China’s Haochen Zhang shared top honors was hardly mentioned.  More than 30 TV crews covered Tsujii’s airport arrival, according to reports from Japan.  Japan’s Chopin Piano magazine issued a glossy, 78 page special issue about Tsujii’s victory, and a publisher announced that his achievement would be noted in a new public-school textbook.

After Tsujii said at a news conference that it would be a relief to his parents when he married, a flood of mail came from female fans.  Regarding his career, Tsujii expressed the hope that some day his style would be so distinctive that his renditions of Chopin or Beethoven would be recognized as carrying his personal stamp.  Another goal, he told the Japanese media, is to be viewed by audience as a professional who can deal with a tough schedule, a less-than-perfect piano or problems with the hall’s acoustics and yet turn in a first-class performance.

A previously scheduled concert in Tokyo had been only 40 percent sold.  Not only were all seats snapped up after he won the Cliburn, but the $53 tickets were resold for $530 despite ticket scalping being illegal in Japan.  Tsujii was also invited to perform August 28 before Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, both solo and in duet with his teacher, Yukio Yokoyama.  Even his mother, Itsuko Tsujii, a former TV presenter and author of two books about raising her son, has been flooded with more than 50 offers to lecture on parenting and will likely do three a month from August, she said.