Nobuyuki Tsujii

Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii—known to his legion of fans simply as Nobu—is that rare classical musician with a pop star’s following. Since winning the gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, he has gone on to a stellar international career, filling concert halls with his emotionally direct, charismatic interpretations.

Here, he plays Beethoven’s timeless Appassionata sonata, Mikhail Pletnev’s piano adaptation of music from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and Prokofiev’s tumultuous seventh sonata.

“[Nobu] brings quite an unusual gift to the performances he gives—interpretations which are entirely focused on the possibilities of sound and feeling; he almost reinvents the music he is playing” (Seen and Heard International).