Search - Franz Liszt, Minoru Nojima :: Nojima Plays Liszt

Heroic Pianism

David A. Kemp | Plano, TX USA | 08/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an extraordinary recording. Nojima may well be the finest pianist most people have never heard of. Minoru Nojima was a child prodigy in Japan, won a major nationwide competition there as a teenager, studied with Lev Oborin in Moscow and then with Constance Keene and Abram Chasins in New York, and burst upon the international music scene as a winner of the Van Cliburn piano competition in 1969. Although known and highly respected amongst pianists as a "pianist's pianist," he is not well known to most music lovers, largely because he doesn't like to make recordings and has made extremely few. This technically superb, rich-sounding digital recording was made in 1986 by Keith Johnson in the Civic Auditorium of Oxnard, California, for the San-Francisco-based audiophile label Reference Recordings; Nojima plays a tonally beautiful Hamburg Steinway concert grand.Franz Liszt was of course the leading piano virtuoso of his day, and he wrote these pieces for his own concerts. Hence they bristle with formidable technical difficulties and challenges. These are surmounted by Nojima without breaking a sweat; he almost makes them sound easy. His playing here is a revelation. He is a consummate virtuoso, and his huge, effortless technique is often mind-boggling, but is always at the service of a profound grasp of and genuinely idiomatic feeling for the Liszt piece he is performing. Indeed, his Liszt playing--with a real command of legato, of cantabile singing tone, and with dazzling pyrotechnics nicely integrated with poetry, sensitivity, a feeling for the phrase, the long line, the architecture of the piece--is in the grand tradition of Arrau and Bolet, the two greatest Liszt pianists of recent decades. This recording should be heard and treasured by anyone who loves Liszt's piano music, and/or by anyone who admires breathtaking pianism. (Note for audiophiles: I compared this CD to Jorge Bolet's series of digital recordings of Liszt piano works on Decca/London. Of the major classical labels, Decca/London has long been my favorite for sound quality. But in this comparison, the Decca/London recordings are not even close in engineering quality. Which prompts this reasonable audiophile question: if Keith Johnson, working for the small audiophile label Reference Recordings, can capture the immediacy, brilliance, depth, and richness of piano tone that we hear here, why can't the major classical labels, with all their resources, engineer recordings of comparable excellence?)The success of this CD led to a second Reference Recordings CD of Nojima playing Ravel. It too is exceptionally fine, also enjoys state-of-the-art piano sound, and can be confidently recommended to anyone who enjoys this recording."

Tastefully virtuosic. Excellent Interpretation

Macro Micro | San Francisco, CA United States | 05/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having attempted on a few occasions two of the pieces on this disk -- Mephisto Waltz No. 1 and La Campanella -- I had a few expectations in mind. Upon listening to the latter, I realized immediately several flaws in my own approach, particularly in the repeated d-sharps in the introduction and in the highly chromatic middle sections. Nojima's delicacy in the introduction is mesmorizing, and I have spent many an hour at the keyboard trying to replicate the apparent ease with which he plays. The Mephisto Waltz is also executed with similar confidence and attention to detail. Although not my favorite of Liszt's Waltzes, this recording is a gem.In general, this is an excellent example of how wonderful Liszt can be when done *right*. The level of difficulty found in this music exceeds that of nearly any other romantic-era composer, but the more fundamental content -- the form, harmony, and other compositional factors -- is treated in a complete, intellegent, and artistic manner. When approached in a purely methodical manner, this music can come off as being self-serving or as an excercise, but Nojima's treatment gives it the sensible, sensual, and aesthetic context that it deserves.Mephisto Waltz - ****1/2
La Campanella - *****
Harmonies du Soir - *****
Feux Follets - *****
Sonata in b minor - *****"

Stunning...Nojima can indeed play Liszt!

Larry Hill | Fresno, CA | 10/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great album for anyone who has dabbled with piano, because it is amazing that anyone could write the music, and more amazing that anyone can play it. In particular the "La Campanella" selection leaves one breathless. Great find!"