NSOI: Nobuyuki plays Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2

National Symphony Orchestra Ireland
Alexander Shelley conductor
Nobuyuki Tsujii piano 

Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2
Wagner Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Bernstein Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Praised by BBC Music Magazine for his “astonishing control and poetry,” the highly acclaimed Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii returns to the National Concert Hall after his much-lauded 2025 recital to perform for Irish audiences once more. Blind from birth, Tsujii is remarkable artist who brings lyrical sensitivity and dazzling technique to Chopin’s beloved Second Piano Concerto. Written when the composer was barely 20 years of age, the work is both virtuosic and deeply poetic, often described as a musical expression of his youthful infatuation with the young soprano Konstancja Gladkowska.

The theme of love continues in Wagner’s sumptuous Prelude and Liebestod from his transcendent opera Tristan und Isolde which the composer described as “the most audacious and original work of my life”. A defining work, it is rich in chromatic intensity and unresolved harmonies, evoking the longing and forbidden passion of its star-crossed lovers.

Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story rounds out the programme with a vibrant orchestral showcase, featuring some of his most iconic melodies, from the beauty of “Somewhere” to the electrifying energy of “Mambo,” adding more passion and energy to a richly expressive programme of love and longing. 

Presented by NCH