Few pianists can aspire to win the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, much less give a solo recital on Carnegie Hall’s mythic stage. To accomplish both is an incredible achievement, but for the young Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, it was especially phenomenal: winner of the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition’s Gold Medal, he has been blind from birth! On November 10, 2011, Tsujii’s dreams came true when he gave his Carnegie Hall debut.
The pianist nicknamed “Nobu” gave an exciting performance of Romantic and contemporary masterpieces for his instrument: from Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Nos. 17 and 2, to Liszt’s "Un sospiro" from the Trois études de concert, from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition to Chopin’s Prelude in D-flat Major, with an encore including his own composition, Elegy for the Victims of the Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011. Experience here the performance Van Cliburn himself described with glowing accolades: “What a thrill to hear this brilliant, very gifted, fabulous pianist. You feel God's presence in the room when he plays. His soul is so pure, his music is so wonderful and it goes to infinity, to the highest heaven.”
