NOBUYUKI TSUJII
Nobuyuki Tsujii is a phenomenon, overcoming his blindness by developing an extraordinary ear and working on scores using a unique method. His programme, spanning Vienna and the Romantic period, includes the famous ‘Appassionata’ Sonata.
Programme
EDVARD GRIEG (1843-1907)
Lyric Pieces, Excerpts
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Two Nocturnes Op. 27
Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brillante in E-flat major Op. 22
Interval
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918)
Rêverie
Images, Book I
PIOTR ILYITCH TCHAÏKOVSKI (1840-1893)
The Nutcracker Suite Op. 71a (arr. M. Pletnev), Excerpts
Nobuyuki Tsujii plays Liszt Grandes Études de Paganini, S. 141, No. 3 “La Campanella”
Debussy’s three Images are a lesson in conciseness and poetry: after the famous Reflets dans l’Eau, an impressionist gem, Hommage à Rameau erects a monument to the greatest of French musicians, and Mouvement is a display of pure energy, anticipating Bartók or Stravinsky.
The energy is more narrative in Chopin’s two Nocturnes Op.27. Dark in the first, stellar in the second, the pieces paint two portraits of the Night. Another contrast is that between the dreamy Andante Spianato and the Grande Polonaise brillante, with its revolutionary accents evoking the Polish uprising that was in full swing.
Edvard Grieg’s Lyric Pieces are notable for their extraordinary nostalgic spirit, sometimes playful, sometimes serious. Drawing on the imagination of opera and fantasy, the collection enchants and confuses.
In the arrangement by virtuoso and conductor Mikhail Pletnev, The Nutcracker regains all its orchestral brilliance on the piano. An opportunity to rediscover the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy or the Waltz of the Flowers in the intimacy of a recital.