Nobuyuki Tsujii - Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 "Hammerklavier"; An die ferne Geliebte (Arr. Liszt) (2024) [Hi-Res]

The Japanese pianist and recent DG signing Nobuyuki Tsujii releases a further pre-release track of his intensely awaited upcoming debut album on DG. For the album, he has chosen Beethoven’s formidable Hammerklavier Sonata, renowned for its dual technical und intellectual challenges, combined with the lyricism of Liszt’s affectionate transcription of Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (“To the Distant Beloved”).

Nobuyuki, who learns every score by heart on account of his blindness, commented on the daunting nature of the Hammerklavier: “It’s such a long work that it’s very difficult to maintain your concentration. I spent a lot of time preparing for the recording … making the music my own. … The more you play it, the more deeply you feel it. There are aspects of Beethoven’s experience that overlap with my own – he lost his hearing but still wrote wonderful, and very difficult, pieces like this sonata. So I worked on it with great respect.”