Described by The Observer as the “definition of virtuosity” Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii (Nobu), who has been blind from birth, won the joint Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009 and has gone on to earn an international reputation for the passion and excitement he brings to his live performances.

Nobu began the season with two stellar USA debuts; Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra as part of Ravinia Festival; and The Cleveland Orchestra as part of Summers at Severance. He returns to Carnegie Hall twice this season, once in recital and later with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. In Europe he will perform a long-awaited recital in Munich followed closely by Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor with conductor Klaus Mäkelä and Orchestre de Paris. Makela, Tsujii and musicians from the orchestra will also join forces in a chamber concert to start the week in Paris. Nobu’s recital and orchestral repertoire is varied and this season will incorporate Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 with performances in Tokyo, Mexico City and Oslo.

Previous seasons have included concerts with leading orchestras worldwide such as Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Philharmonia Orchestra, NHK Symphony, Seattle and Baltimore symphony orchestras, Münchner Philharmoniker, Filarmonica della Scala, Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich at the Wiener Musikverein, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi and Hong Kong Philharmonic. He maintains a close relationship with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he performed a sold-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms in 2023. Notable past collaborations also include the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg under Kent Nagano, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra under Klaus Mäkelä, the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover under Andrew Manze, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko, and BBC Philharmonic under Juanjo Mena. Nobu’s appearances as a recitalist have comprised performances at prestigious venues worldwide such as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, London’s Queen Elizabth Hall, Wigmore Hall and Royal Albert Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, and Singapore Esplanade.

Nobu’s debut Deutsche Grammophon album, released digitally on 29 November 2024, featured a Beethoven programme that paired the towering “Hammerklavier” Sonata, op. 106 with Liszt’s transcription of the song cycle An die ferne Geliebte (“To the Distant Beloved”). His previous recordings with Avex Classics International includes Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.2 with Vladimir Ashkenazy and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Rachmaninov’s Variations on a theme of Paganini under Vasily Petrenko with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Nobu has also recorded several recital programmes of Chopin, Mozart, Debussy, and Liszt.

A live DVD recording of Nobu’s 2011 Carnegie Hall recital was named DVD of the Month by Gramophone, as was his latest DVD release, ‘Touching the Sound – The Improbable Journey of Nobuyuki Tsujii’, a documentary film by Peter Rosen.

Nobuyuki Tsujii’s international tours are supported by All Nippon Airways (ANA) and he gratefully acknowledges their assistance.