A punky and impressive showcase from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Nobuyuki Tsujii
BBC’s penultimate Prom at the Royal Albert Hall saw the pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii take on Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra led by Domingo Hindoyan. The programme was ambitious and impressive; the concerto was exciting and filled the space of the hall – aurally, but also its layered and varied sound took up the auditorium tonally and emotionally. Nobuyuki Tsujii, born blind, gained international recognition when he won the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009. His talent and technique are undoubtedly captivating to listen to and watch.
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 was paired with Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story”. I’m a huge “West Side Story” fan, so enjoyed this immensely. It was just the right choice to balance the Rachmaninov, playfully and keeping it light, working especially well in the Prom context. The additional piece, Gabriela Ortiz’s Clara, inspired by Clara Schumann, was spiky and a true delicacy to listen to. Although contemporary, it really reminded me of 20th c. avant-garde music, and balanced out the programme even further. In both the Ortiz and the Bernstein we got to see a lot of impressive moves from the percussion section, making us feel like we had gotten a taste of everything RLPO had to offer.
I would always recommend attending a Prom, to anyone, of any age. And what I loved about the Proms in general, is the diversity in age of the audiences. Looking around, I saw children, teenage schoolboys, young adults – it was so refreshing to see this at what is ultimately a classical music concert. I think there still is a lot of work to do with changing the perception of the classical world as being a somewhat exclusive and fusty place, however it’s getting there, and the BBC Proms are a great place to start.