LIFE & CULTURE

SHARING HOPE AND
THE JOY OF LIVING
THROUGH MUSIC

Pianist TSUJII Nobuyuki has enchanted audiences worldwide ever since his triumph at the 13th Van Cliburn International
Piano Competition in 2009. He also has continued to take on new endeavors in the face of hardships through music.
The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic
Games are set to start on August
24. Audiences across the world
will watch in fascination aspara athletes compete for top
honors in 539 events in 22 sports
categories. Meanwhile, the worldof music is graced by the presenceof a Japanese pianist who alsoovercame a disability to performin venues across the world,bringing hope and heartfelt
moments to many listeners.
TSUJII Nobuyuki, who was born
blind in 1988, first encountered
music when he was eight months

TSUJII NOBUYUKI
Born in Tokyo in 1988, Tsujii showed
great promise at the piano from an earlyage despite his disability, and decided atage 10 that he wanted to playprofessionally. In 2005, he became theyoungest person to compete in theInternational Chopin Piano
Competition, where he was granted thecritics’ award. Since winning the top
prize at the Van Cliburn International
Piano Competition in 2009, he has
performed on stages the world over.

©Yuji Horiold. His mother noticed that heenjoyed listening to Chopin’s“Heroic” Polonaise, and began
to play the CD for him everyday. Applying himself to musicwith extraordinary fortitude andpassion, his talents bloomed at an
early age and he won the top prizeat the 13th Van Cliburn PianoCompetition at the age of 20,
playing masterpieces including
Chopin’s 12 Études op.10. In thedozen years since then, he has
toured the globe, maturing as aperformer. And this year, he took
the great step of undertaking atour in which he once again played
Chopin—this time all 27 of thecomposer’s Études, an impressive
feat. “It was an enormouschallenge. But I decided to takeLeft: When Tsujii triumphed at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, he received
the gold medal from Cliburn himself (left front). The encounter is one of his most treasured memories.
©Van Cliburn Foundation
Right: Many maestros and world-class musicians, including russian conductor Valery Gergiev (center),have praised Tsujii and opened doors to him as a performer (photo taken in St. Petersburg, Russia, 2012).

advantage of this stasis (imposedby the pandemic) to work on theÉtudes more thoroughly thanever,” Tsujii reflects.
Tsujii is revered both forthe purity and beauty of hisnotes and for his outstanding
playing technique, but rather
than allowing his own musicalpersonality to dominate, hefaithfully seeks to express theenticing depths and complexitiesof whatever masterpiece he isplaying. More than anything,he finds joy in sharing the musicwith his audience, and this truly
comes across in his performances.
This straightforwardness makes
him so beloved by audiences of allnations. “I loved to perform forpeople when I was very young,and that passion has never once
wavered. Whenever I play, I try
my best to be as one with theaudience.”
In his programs, Tsujii
generally includes well-known
pieces that everyone can enjoy,

and experiments eagerly with newideas, such as concerts that pairmusic with projections of worldfamous masterpiece paintings.
This attitude was driven in part bya conversation that he once hadwith Van Cliburn, the legendary
American pianist who gave hisname to the competition inwhich Tsujii won the top prize.
“I met with him shortly before hepassed away, and he said to me:‘Be a pianist who can draw in anaudience of those even without
any knowledge or interest inclassical music.’ That is what I
keep in mind every time I play ata concert.”
During the decade that Tsujii
climbed to the heights as a concert
pianist, Japan and the world faced
enormous predicaments, such as
the Great East Japan Earthquakeof 2011, and the current
COVID-19 pandemic. Distressedby these events, Tsujii exploredways to contribute with hismusic. In 2012, he participated

Top: A scene from Tsujii’s first online concert in 2020. “Throughonline streaming, people can watch my hands as I play, and theycan enjoy music in the comfort of their own homes. These areadvantages that live performances lack,” he says.
Right: Since 2016, Tsujii has been regularly holding concerts
where audiences can enjoy a fine selection of impressionist,ukiyo-e, and other art projected onto giant screens during theperformance. ©Hikaru

in the production of “Lights ofJapan,” a video message to theworld regarding Japan’s postearthquake reconstruction. He
performed with a piano that had
been restored after serious damage
from the tsunami. Transmitting
hope and determination for thereconstruction, the video message
was shown to world leaders
assembled at the Davos Forum.
In 2020, in the midst of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Tsujiipresented a new composition,
entitled “We will smile togetheragain,” in hopes of offering comfort
to others through music. He has
also experimented with new ways
to communicate through music,
including launching a YouTube
channel and giving his first onlineconcerts. “I feel that we needmusic the most when times arehard. Music knows no nationalboundaries and has magnificent
power. I myself would not be
where I am today without it,” hesays. Keeping these thoughts inmind, Tsujii will continue to meet
new challenges. “I will work harderthan ever to be a pianist who stays
in people’s hearts. To always playwith joy—that is something I will
never forget.”