Orpheus & Nobuyuki Tsujii on tour is USA and Japan

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Honorary Member Nobuyuki Tsujii Return to Carnegie Hall and Japan in 2024

• Of the multitude of outstanding artists with whom Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is proud to call a collaborator, pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii stands out as one of the longest and most fruitful artistic relationships in the orchestra’s rich 51-year history
• Having first appeared on stage with Tsujii in 2014 on a 16-city tour, this spring, Orpheus and the pianist will embark on the orchestra’s first international tour since 2019 and 4th together, with eleven dates together across the United States and Japan
• The degree of inspiration Tsujii elicits from Orpheus cannot be overstated, with their unique bond forged by these blazing artists’ virtuosity in the act of dedicated listening: Orpheus has been conductorless since its inception, and Tsujii has been blind since birth. The similarities and differences between the pianist’s and orchestra’s musical perception and execution is where their interpretations take flight with soaring lyricism and satisfying nuance
• This tour features three thrilling programs, each a master class in the supreme importance, and staggering capabilities, of trust, ensemble, and the simplicity of remaining present
• Orpheus is thrilled to return to the Japanese stages, having traveled throughout the nation Japan for over 35 years. This tour marks the orchestra’s 15th Japanese tour to date

Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
West Palm Beach, FL (Jan 20, 2024, 2PM)

Brooks Center for the Performing Arts 
Clemson, SC (Jan 21, 2024, 4PM)

Florida State University College of Music Ruby Diamond Concert Hall 
Tallahassee, FL (Jan 22, 2024, 7:30PM)

Carnegie Hall - Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
New York, NY (Jan 27, 2024, 7PM)

Tokyo Electron Hall Miyagi
Sendai, JP (Feb 3, 2024, 2PM)

Suntory Hall
Tokyo, JP (Feb 5, 2024, 7PM)

THE PROGRAM

NATHATLIE JOACHIM: Vibran (World Premiere*)
CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (adapted by Shuying Li*)
Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano
SCHUMANN: Carnaval, Op. 9 (orchestrated by Zachary Wadsworth*) 

*Commissioned by Orpheus

Suntory Hall
Tokyo, JP (Feb 6, 2024, 7PM)

Osaka Symphony Hall
Osaka, JP (Feb 10, 2024, 2PM)

ARENSKY: Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky Op. 35a
CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21
Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano
MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition (arranged by Jannina Norpoth)

The Ehime Prefectural Culture Hall
Matsuyama, JP (Feb 7, 2024, 7:00PM)

Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen HBG Hall
Hiroshima, JP (Feb 9, 2024, 6:45PM) 

Kawasho Hall (Kagoshima Civic Culture Hall) No. 1
Kagoshima, JP (Feb 11, 2024, 2PM)

MICHI WIANKO: Chopaniana (commissioned work by Orpheus)
CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 (adapted by Shuying Li)
Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano
CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (adapted by Shuying Li)
Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano

The Orpheus fingerprint - defined by innovation and exploring new musical ideas - can be felt throughout these programs with several of its artistic partners shaping the framework, with: a newly-commissioned, world premiere work by Nathalie Joachim, adaptations, arrangements, and orchestrations by Shuying Li, Jannina Norpoth, and Zachary Wadsworth, and a commissioned work by Michi Wianko

Carnegie Hall programs are Orpheus Chamber Orchestra’s home-base performance space, with three performances on its storied stages per season. In addition to Tsujii, Orpheus will appear this spring with violinist Bomsori Kim. Orpheus’ season opened at Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage with classical and jazz saxophonist, Branford Marsalis

About Orpheus Chamber Orchestra:
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a radical experiment in musical democracy, proving for fifty years what happens when exceptional artists gather with total trust in each other and faith in the creative process. Orpheus began in 1972 when cellist Julian Fifer assembled a group of New York freelancers in their early twenties to play orchestral repertoire as if it were chamber music. In that age of co-ops and communes, the idealistic Orpheans snubbed the “corporate” path of symphony orchestras and learned how to play, plan and promote concerts as a true collective, with leadership roles rotating from the very first performance.

It’s one thing for the four players of a string quartet to lean into the group sound and react spontaneously, but with 20 or 30 musicians together, the complexities and payoffs get magnified exponentially. Within its first decade, Orpheus made Carnegie Hall its home and became a global sensation through its tours of Europe and Asia. Its catalog of recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Nonesuch and other labels grew to include more that 70 albums that still stand as benchmarks of the chamber orchestra repertoire, including Haydn symphonies, Mozart concertos, and twentieth-century gems by Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Ravel, and Bartók.

The sound of Orpheus is defined by its relationships, and guest artists have always been crucial partners in the process. Orpheus brings the best out of its collaborators, and those bonds deepen over time, as heard in the long arc of music-making with soloists such as Richard Goode and Branford Marsalis, and in the commitment to welcoming next-generation artists including Nobuyuki Tsujii and Tine Thing Helseth. Breaking down the barriers of classical repertoire, partnerships with Brad Mehldau, Wayne Shorter, Ravi Shankar, and many others from the sphere of jazz and beyond have redefined what a chamber orchestra can do. Relationships with composers and dozens of commissions have been another crucial way that Orpheus stretches itself, including a role for Jessie Montgomery as the orchestra’s first ever Artistic Partner. Having proven the power of direct communication and open-mindedness within the ensemble, the only relationship Orpheus has never had any use for is one with a conductor.

At home in New York and in the many concert halls it visits in the U.S. and beyond, Orpheus begins its next fifty years with a renewed commitment to enriching and reflecting the surrounding community. It will continue its groundbreaking work with those living with Alzheimer’s Disease through Orpheus Reflections,and the Orpheus Academy as well as the Orpheus Leadership Institute spread the positive lessons of trust and democracy to young musicians and those in positions of power. Each year, Access Orpheus reaches nearly 2000 public school students in all five boroughs of New York City, bringing music into their communities and welcoming them to Carnegie Hall. Always evolving as artists and leaders, the Orpheus musicians carry this communal legacy forward, counting on their shared artistry and mutual respect to make music and effect change.

About Nobuyuki Tsujii:
Described by The Observer as the “definition of virtuosity” Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii (Nobu), who has been blind from birth, won the joint Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009 and has gone on to earn an international reputation for the passion and excitement he brings to his live performances.

Nobu’s 2023/24 season opens with a sold-out appearance at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms with Domingo Hindoyan and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, one of several collaborations with the RLPO this season that will see Nobu perform with them again in Liverpool and on tour in Japan in Spring 2024. Other upcoming collaborations as concerto soloist include Hong Kong Philharmonic under Vasily Petrenko, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verd, and Macau Symphony Orchestra. As a recitalist, Nobu will also return to the Théâtre des Champs Elysées and the Tsinandali Festival, in addition to numerous solo and concerto appearances across his native Japan including a tour with Klaus Mäkelä conducting Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Earlier seasons have seen Nobu appear in concert with leading orchestras worldwide including Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl,Philharmonia Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Seattle and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras, Münchner Philharmoniker, Filarmonica della Scala, Sinfonieorchester Basel, and Bilbao Symphony Orchestra. Notable past collaborations also include Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg under Kent Nagano, The Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, NDRRadiophilharmonie Hannover under Andrew Manze, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko, and BBC Philharmonic under Juanjo Mena. Nobu’s

appearances as a recitalist have included performances at prestigious venues worldwide such as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall and Royal Albert Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein,Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, and Singapore Esplanade.

An exclusive recording artist for Avex Classics International, Nobu’s growing album catalogue encompasses the breadth of the piano concerto repertoire. It currently includes Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.2 with Vladimir Ashkenazy and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Rachmaninov’s Variations on a theme of Paganini under Vasily Petrenko with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 with Yutaka Sado and BBC Philharmonic, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Nobu has also recorded several recital programmes of Chopin, Mozart, Debussy, and Liszt.

A live DVD recording of Nobu’s 2011 Carnegie Hall recital was named DVD of the Month by Gramophone, as was his latest DVD release, ‘Touching the Sound — The Improbable Journey of Nobuyuki Tsujii’, a documentary film by Peter Rosen. Nobu’s international tours are supported by All Nippon Airways (ANA) and he gratefully acknowledges their assistance.

Hannah Goldshlack-Wolf
hannah@wildkatpr.com +1 917 330 2046