Pianist Nobuyuki (Nobu) Tsujii, image via Sydney Opera House.
The brilliant young pianist Nobuyuki (Nobu) Tsujii thrilled the audience at the Opera House on Friday night with his dramatic playing of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 2, appearing as guest soloist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Tsujii has been an international music sensation since winning the 2009 Van Cliburn piano competition and is accorded celebrity status at home in Japan. His technical and expressive abilities are excellent, and even more impressive for someone who was born without sight.
Tsujii began piano lessons as a young child after his mother noticed his musical talents. (There are some wonderful videos on YouTube of Tsujii as a tiny tot banging out tunes on a toy piano.) He was just ten years old when he made his concert debut in Osaka, although Chopin gets the gong for making his debut playing a concerto when he was only eight.
Obviously unable to read a music score, and frustrated with the small canon of music available in Braille, Tsujii has developed his own system for learning complex pieces by ear. And he says once learned, he never forgets a piece.
British conductor Bramwell Tovey led from the podium with understated elegance, creating a cohesive and satisfying performance. Tovey is an accomplished pianist himself which gives him a deep understanding of the relationship between soloist and orchestra. And whereas most players rely on that precious eye contact with the conductor, Tsujii follows the conductor’s breathing to ensure precision in pace and timing.
Tsujii delights in playing fast and loud, but he also displays an acute sensitivity when it’s required. He was clearly in control of Chopin’s Second, a beautiful piece full of poetry and fanciful virtuosity, bringing out all the sonority and colour in the work as he revelled in its changing moods and rhythms. His playing is clear and confident with every note given a reason to be.
The audience was clearly thrilled by his performance, calling him back for repeated bows and finally eliciting a brief and rousing encore. His prestidigitation really is remarkable. He was such a draw-card for the audience that noticeably fewer patrons came back to their seats after the interval to hear the SSO play Dvořák’s Symphony No 8 in G.
This was beautifully delivered with warmth and an athletic pace bringing out the essence of the underlying folk songs. The individual instrumental players were all excellent. The flute work was especially fine and a real highlight of the piece. That said, each section of the SSO was on sparkling form, with the cellos and winds creating beautiful lines and the brass giving great depth to the finale. Tovey again conducted with a quiet assurance in shaping the contours of the music .
And to end at the beginning, the program opened with a rousing performance of Le Corsaire, The Pirate Overture by Hector Berlioz, one of the most exciting personalities in music history. Berlioz is known for challenging the accepted orchestral conventions of the time, and this piece is no exception. It is an overture, but curiously this is an overture to nowhere – it does not precede or introduce a bigger work, but is a stand-alone composition written in various forms between 1845 and 1852. The SSO embraced the adventuresome nature of the piece, delivering it with vigour and flair. Tovey was clearly captain of the ship giving the strings, in particular, permission to roam but always keeping a tight grip on proceedings. The unexpected pause in the climax was perfectly timed to heighten the dramatic tension.
All in all, this was an exciting program and a great performance by the SSO and guests.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5
Nobuyuki Tsujii Plays Chopin
Bramwell Tovey – conductor
Nobuyuki Tsujii – piano
Program:
BERLIOZ Le Corsaire – Overture
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No.2
DVOŘÁK Symphony No.8
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Opera House May 19 & 20 2017
