Minoru Nojima - Nojima Plays Ravel (HDCD) (1990)

"Undoubtedly one of the worlds foremost players of Ravel." Record Geijutsu

Classic 1990 recording reissued by popular demand. One of Japans most internationally respected pianists, Minoru Nojima began piano lessons at the age of three and at ten years old made his debut with the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Nojima was invited by the Soviet Cultural Affairs Ministry to study at the Moscow Conservatory of Music between 1966 and 1968 under the tutelage of Lev Oborin, during which time he performed numerous recitals in Moscow, Leningrad, and elsewhere in the Soviet Union. After success in several competitions, in 1969 he walked away with second prize in the Third Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Nojimas career went from strength to strength and, the following year, he earned effusive praise from the New York Times for his debut recital at Carnegie Hall. Since then, from his bases both in New York and Tokyo, he has maintained an active schedule of recitals, orchestra engagements, and chamber music performances throughout the United States,! Europe, and Asia. Nojimas Suntory Hall recital, featuring works by Ravel, was hailed by major Tokyo newspapers as being "the best performance heard in years" and Nojima was praised as having "a miraculous technique, his musicianship is polished to the extreme".
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Although the music and performances on this disc are superb, it gets only a qualified recommendation. Minoro Nojima plays these two demanding Ravel suites with all the fluency and color you could ever want to hear, running the range from an eerie Le Gibet to a really thrilling Alborada del Gracioso. The piano sound is outstandingly rich, also. But the pianist didn't play more than these pieces of Ravel, and the company didn't want to couple them with music by another composer, so they agreed to put out this disc with a little less than 50 minutes on it. If that's enough for you, go ahead and buy it. It's wonderful as long as it lasts. --Leslie Gerber