The artistry of pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii ‘goes straight to the heart’

When pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii makes his highly anticipated Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut on Aug. 16 at the Ravinia Festival, he will be soloist in Rachmaninov’s demanding Piano Concerto No. 2.

Known for its soaring melodies and emotional insight, the concerto is a staple of the classical piano repertoire. “Tsujii’s extraordinary technique and expressive artistry,” said London’s Observer — calling him “the definition of virtuosity” — "he brings a fresh and breathtaking interpretation to Rachmaninov’s beloved work."

For his debut disc on Deutsche Grammophon, Tsujii selected an equally virtuosic program: Beethoven’s thundering Hammerklavier Sonata, Op. 106, and Liszt’s transcription of Beethoven’s song cycle An die ferne Geliebte (“To the Distant Beloved”). The Hammerklavier Sonata is one of the works that Tsujii — known affectionately to his fans as Nobu — performed on the way to being named the dual winner of the Van Cliburn Competition in 2009.

Of his debut DG disc, released last November, Tsujii said in a statement: “I’m happy and honored to have joined Deutsche Grammophon, home to so many legendary artists, and I’m thrilled to be releasing my first album, with two wonderful works by Beethoven.” 

"Nobu brings the same intense focus and optimistic mindset to the studio as he always does to the concert platform,” said Dr Clemens Trautmann, president of Deutsche Grammophon. “His determination to do justice to the contrasting challenges of these two works impressed the whole team, and Deutsche Grammophon is thrilled to be able to share his vision of Beethoven with listeners around the world.”

Deutsche Grammophon also is reissuing Nobu’s earlier albums for the label Avex, including his studio recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, conducted by Yutaka Sado. That disc came out in June.

Despite having what many musicians would consider a severe disadvantage, Tsujii, 36, has risen to top of the classical music world. Blind since birth due to microphthalmia (a genetic defect that results in extremely small eyes), Tsujii has gone on to enjoy an international career. Born in Tokyo, he also is a composer.

Regardless of a work’s complexity, Nobu learns every score by a methodical process, due to his blindness. Using Braille, he masters a work mostly by ear, through listening repeatedly to recordings of brief segments of a work.

In a recent interview with the Journal of Greenville, South Carolina, he explained his learning techniques. "I began playing piano at a very young age when my mother, who is also a pianist, observed that I was able to repeat melodies easily. I still mostly learn new music by ear, and I continue to rely on listening and sensing for both score study and for performing, though, of course, it’s more complicated than the children’s tunes from my early days.

“Over the years, I have been fortunate to have developed relationships with colleagues who record larger works in chunks and [for] each hand separately, which allows me to practice the same way any other concert pianist practices: slowly and deliberately. I generally find Braille scores, which can be difficult to source, a bit cumbersome, since I need one hand to read what’s written and the other to practice the fingering. But it’s another tool I use in order to connect ear and hand and to learn the piece at a technical level.”

DG’s Trautmann considers Nobu a once-in-a-generation artist. “He’s a truly exciting musician, blessed with rare musical inventiveness and insight, which may also stem from the fact that he perceives the world differently,” he said. “His playing goes straight to the heart.”

The instrument is his voice. “The piano is something I can use to express myself, and I’m much better at communicating using the piano rather than speech,” Nobu said. “In that sense, the piano is essential for me.”