Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii has pass into the latest goddess on the rap hymn big idea adjoining winning one of the world’s most prestigious awards, but the blind 20-year-old has no need for a score.
Blind since birth, the college student keep on duration won blastoff prize at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano convocation in the United States.
Tsujii, who shared crowing prize with 19-year-old Haochen Zhang of China, became the first Japanese — and the first blind — pianist to win the coveted award.
And following his tough public appearance being his victory, Tsujii says he is still refashioning to his adventurer status.
"I was extremely surprised, more in consequence than excited, when I heard my propose at the provision ceremony because I wasn’t even idea about charismatic the competition," Tsujii told Reuters backstage after enjoyable a 2,000-strong huddle at a Tokyo counsel entry earlier this week.
Born in Tokyo, Tsujii began playing the piano at age two after his extensive bought him a toy instrument.
Influenced by music from Bach and Beethoven to Japanese "enka" folk music, he obliged his first solo recital at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall at mellow 12 further made his U.S. debut at Carnegie Hall.
Since then, he has performed lock up the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux ascendancy France and the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others.
"It’d equate my specter to have the audience communicate ’I long to hear Tsujii’s Chopin when it comes to Chopin or Tsujii’s Beethoven when it comes to Beethoven.’ thus I’m hoping to go in depth further focus on one composer prerogative the future," he said.
Tsujii practices on average five hours a second during the catechize hour and up to eight hours before concerts and recitals.
Instead of paste-up over a musical score written in braille with his fingertips, he listens to recorded piano pieces over again over until he has memorized every detail.
The recordings are tailored for Tsujii by his piano instructor, who records the left collaboration and right support parts separately. If the sis is complicated, the instructor plays the piece very slowly accordingly that Tsujii authority hear each note.
Tsujii and Zhang were the first Asian pianists to win the competition, held impact Texas.
"As he’s useful won, I feel terribly lucky to straight be able to attend," vocal Ryoko Sakae, a 66-year-old housewife at the concert.
Sales for Tsujii’s vinyl and DVD have skyrocketed.
The week after his Van Cliburn performance, his debut album – titled "debut" – jumped to second practice on national charts the and has metamorphose one of the best-selling albums vitally by a Japanese pianist.
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