Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 "Hammerklavier"; An die ferne Geliebte (Arr. Liszt) Nobuyuki Tsujii

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (Arr. Liszt for Solo Piano as S. 469):
• 1 van Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (Arr. Liszt for Solo Piano as S. 469): No. 1, Auf dem Hügel sitz ich, spähend 02:26
• 2 van Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (Arr. Liszt for Solo Piano as S. 469): No. 2, Wo die Berge so blau 01:58
• 3 van Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (Arr. Liszt for Solo Piano as S. 469): No. 3, Leichte Segler in den Höhen 01:38
• 4 van Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (Arr. Liszt for Solo Piano as S. 469): No. 4, Diese Wolken in den Höhen 01:04
• 5 van Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (Arr. Liszt for Solo Piano as S. 469): No. 5, Es kehret der Maien, es blühet die Au 02:19
• 6 van Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (Arr. Liszt for Solo Piano as S. 469): No. 6, Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder 04:12
• Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier"
• 7 van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier": I. Allegro 11:33
• 8 van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier": II. Scherzo. Assai vivace – Presto 02:44
• 9 van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier": III. Adagio sostenuto, appassionato e con molto sentimento 17:40
• 10 van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier": IV. Largo – Allegro – Allegro risoluto 11:47
• Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique":
• 11 van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique": II. Adagio cantabile 04:50
• Total Runtime 01:02:11

Info for Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 "Hammerklavier"; An die ferne Geliebte (Arr. Liszt)

The Japanese pianist and recent DG signing Nobuyuki Tsujii releases his intensely awaited debut album on DG. He has recorded Beethoven’s formidable Hammerklavier Sonata, renowned for its dual technical und intellectual challenges, which he combines with the lyricism of Liszt’s affectionate transcription of Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (“To the Distant Beloved”).

Nobuyuki, who learns every score by heart on account of his blindness, commented on the daunting nature of the Hammerklavier: “It’s such a long work that it’s very difficult to maintain your concentration. I spent a lot of time preparing for the recording … making the music my own. … The more you play it, the more deeply you feel it. There are aspects of Beethoven’s experience that overlap with my own – he lost his hearing but still wrote wonderful, and very difficult, pieces like this sonata. So I worked on it with great respect.”

Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano

Nobuyuki Tsujii
The intense energy generated by Nobuyuki Tsujii in performance is electrifying. The Japanese pianist, universally known as Nobu, channels his phenomenal technical skills and command of tonal colours to craft interpretations that reveal the essence of the works in his wide repertoire. Stemming from a profound spiritual connection with the music and a rare ability to be as one with his instrument, his artistry appears all the more remarkable given that he was born blind.

Nobu created headline news in 2009 when he was declared joint winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition’s coveted Gold Medal. His pianism prompted the contest’s founder to declare that he was “absolutely miraculous”. Nobu’s performance, he continued, had “the power of a healing service. It was truly divine.”

That verdict was soon endorsed by audiences and critics drawn to hear the young man’s debuts on the world’s most prestigious stages, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Royal Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris and the main auditorium of Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. Nobu also became the subject of a documentary directed by the eminent film-maker Peter Rosen: Touching the Sound: The Improbable Journey of Nobuyuki Tsujii (2014), having already featured prominently in the director’s film about the 13th Van Cliburn Competition, A Surprise in Texas (2010).

Having long since established his place among today’s leading pianists, Nobu signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon in April 2024. The label plans to reissue the artist’s existing classical discography, and subscribers to its STAGE+ platform can now watch two recitals filmed earlier this year – one from Suntory Hall, the other from the Verbier Festival – as well as Rosen’s Touching the Sound.

Nobu’s debut DG album features a Beethoven programme that pairs the towering “Hammerklavier” Sonata, op. 106 with Liszt’s transcription of the song cycle An die ferne Geliebte (“To the Distant Beloved”). The album is set for release digitally – and on CD in Japan – on 29 November 2024, while the CD will be released worldwide on 21 March 2025.

In recent seasons Nobu has appeared as concerto soloist with, among others, Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic, and Domingo Hindoyan and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Other career highlights include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the BBC Philharmonic and Juanjo Mena, and the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg and Kent Nagano.

Forthcoming highlights include a tour of Australia during which he will perform Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto and a recital programme of Beethoven, Liszt, Ravel and Kapustin (18 October−9 November); three performances in Honolulu, Hawaii (14, 16 & 17 November); and a recital tour of Japan featuring solo works by Debussy, Prokofiev and Beethoven (1–20 December). He begins 2025 with performances of the Grieg Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto in Fukuoka, Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Osaka and Nagoya (19–26 January).

Born in Tokyo in September 1988, Nobu displayed his innate musicality at the age of two when he began picking out tunes on a tiny toy piano. After just a few hearings he was able to play the songs his mother sang to him, and he began improvising miniature compositions spontaneously during early childhood. “The piano is something I can use to express myself, and I’m much better at communicating using piano rather than speech,” he reflects. “So in that sense, the piano is essential for me.”

Nobu’s phenomenal aural skills and memory enabled him to learn increasingly complex pieces by listening to short sections and repeating them at the piano his parents bought for him. His progress was such that he won first prize at the All Japan Music Competition of Blind Students at the age of seven and, three years later, made his debut with orchestra. He gave his first piano recital, in the small hall of Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, when he was twelve and soon reached audiences overseas with recital tours to the United States, Russia and France. He also began performing his own compositions.

Two years after reaching the semifinal of the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2005, Nobu enrolled at Tokyo’s Ueno Gakuen University and made his professional debut. He achieved pop-star status in Japan thanks to his Cliburn Competition victory and remains enormously popular in his homeland, as well as having a huge and ever-growing fanbase abroad. “I always aim to play for audiences to enjoy,” he says. “To me, my responsibility is the audience’s enjoyment.”

Booklet for Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 "Hammerklavier"; An die ferne Geliebte (Arr. Liszt)