Label: Challenge Classics
Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917237122
Catalog number: CC 72371
Releasedate: 07-01-11
Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917237122
Releasedate: 07-01-11
The blind pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii learns his pianoscores by ear and he is a sensation worldwide. He joins renowned conductor Yutaka Sado in a superb performance of the Second Piano Concerto of Rachmaninoff. And on his own he interprets Liebestraum no.3, Mephisto Waltz no.1 and Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 of Franz Liszt. With these different pianistic works he can show his craft which is build on his high sensitivity and intuition and of course his enormous musicality. No wonder audiences have tears in their eyes when they listen to him!
- Yutaka Sado: in 1987 he studied with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa at the Tanglewood Music Festival and became Bernstein’s assistant during his concert tour with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra.
- He won, among other prizes, the Premier Grand Prix of the 39th International Competition for Young Conductors Besançon in 1989
- Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii - was joint Gold Medalist of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
- The blind pianist has become a worldwide sensation after his winning the Gold medal in the Van Cliburn Competition
- In 1993 Sado was appointed chief conductor of the Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux
- In his home country he has been the artistic director of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center since 2005 and regular guest-conductor all over the world
There is no piano concerto more beloved than the Second Piano Concerto by Rachmaninoff. When Nobuyuki Tsujii was in the Van Cliburn Competition this masterwork was one of the pieces he played and the audience loved it and love him! In 2009 James Conlon and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra played it together with Nobuyuki. In this magnificent recording the blind pianist joins conductorr Yutaka Sado and the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin. It is unbelievable that the pianist learned the formidable scores of the Second Piano Concerto by Rachmaninoff by ear and it is not a surprise that Nobuyuki Tsujii has become a worldwide sensation sice the after the Van Cliburn Competition and his winning of the Goid medal!
Rachmaninoff just had a rough and hard time before he composed the Second Piano Concerto:" ...after having spent three years of creative hardship, without composing anything, but composing the concerto not only finally got him out of his depression but also lifted his spirits and restored his confidence in his creative abilities. Even more, the first complete performance in October/November 1901 brought him great and lasting success. No wonder, as most in this romantic work comes down to the overwhelming powers of great and passionate melodies, searching harmonies and a clear demonstration of his flawless craftsmanship." (source: linernotes Aart van der Wal)
"The Liszt recital covers more than just one aspect of this composer’s multi-faceted musical genius, although it cannot be denied that hardly any composer evoked more controversy than Liszt, the ‘accusations’ ranging from the vulgar to the flamboyant. Liszt, the innovator and musical ‘exhibitionist’ as well as the poet obsessed by beauty, the man between earthiness and almost metaphysical spirituality. But he was even more than that, such as the dazzling arranger of works by other composers and the highly illuminating creator of the most magnificent and virtuosic of all opera paraphrases." (source: linernotes Aart van der Wal)
Rachmaninoff just had a rough and hard time before he composed the Second Piano Concerto:" ...after having spent three years of creative hardship, without composing anything, but composing the concerto not only finally got him out of his depression but also lifted his spirits and restored his confidence in his creative abilities. Even more, the first complete performance in October/November 1901 brought him great and lasting success. No wonder, as most in this romantic work comes down to the overwhelming powers of great and passionate melodies, searching harmonies and a clear demonstration of his flawless craftsmanship." (source: linernotes Aart van der Wal)
"The Liszt recital covers more than just one aspect of this composer’s multi-faceted musical genius, although it cannot be denied that hardly any composer evoked more controversy than Liszt, the ‘accusations’ ranging from the vulgar to the flamboyant. Liszt, the innovator and musical ‘exhibitionist’ as well as the poet obsessed by beauty, the man between earthiness and almost metaphysical spirituality. But he was even more than that, such as the dazzling arranger of works by other composers and the highly illuminating creator of the most magnificent and virtuosic of all opera paraphrases." (source: linernotes Aart van der Wal)