Customer Reviews

Nojima Plays Liszt

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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 - *****

It is truly a shame that the name Minoru Nojima is not well known in this country. In the liner notes for the disc he is aptly referred to as a "pianist's pianist." He is an artist of the highest order. For fans of the music of Franz Liszt, or for pianophiles in general, this disc is a must. From the very first rhythmically driving notes of the Mephisto Waltz, to the sublime ending of the Sonata in B minor, Minoru Nojima establishes himself as not only a complete master of keyboard technique, technique in the highest sense, but also as a most sensitive and intellectually piercing musician who has completely digested and transformed these masterpeices of virtuosic and emotional display. Throughout the disc, Nojima pays great attention to the structure of the works, never getting lost in athletic prowress, as so many of his contemporaries do. His Mephisto Waltz is the one of the finest I have heard (although not quite as searing as Kapell's version). With his fearsome technique always in service of the music, Nojima tackles the acrobatic La Campanella with sensitivity and virtuosity. Harmonies du Soir is a beatifully balanced account of the work. The treacherous finger-buster Feaux Follets is played to the hilt. His performance of this miniature masterpiece is one of the finest on disc and should be listened to alongside Richter's and Kissin's interpretations. Nojima's talent for seeing the big picture in large forms is clearly evident in his treatment of the B-minor Sonata. From beginning to end, you know you are in the hands of a master interpreting a master. This album is an outstanding example of music making of the highest order, and it should be in everyone's record collection.

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!

Someone once made the comment to me that Franz Liszt was really messed-up.....my reply was that if we lost all the music by messed-up composers, we wouldn't have much left. Oh, we'd still have Bach and Vivaldi, and, probably Haydn, but then........Known in his own day more as performer than composer, Liszt was, by any standard, a mess. SO WHAT? He was, you see, a genius. Further, and more important, he shared his genius. The music in this album was part of Liszt's gift to the ages.

If Franz Liszt left a high standard, Minoru Nojima meets, or exceeds, it. The whole album is fabulous, though I especially enjoyed what Nojima does with "Harmonies du soir". The only regret is that this performer is not far better known...two albums, for a small boutique label, is not nearly enough.

Speaking of the small label, Keith Johnson has been working miracles for Reference Recordings for close to 50 years. Great performance of great music is a joy....great recording skill is entertaining....But a great performance of great music, recorded with great skill...THAT'S a miracle. This one is no accident; the whole catalog is filled with miracles, whether of classical or jazz, solo or ensemble, vocal or instrumental.

In closing, I mention another regret; Professor Johnson and his analog, vacuum tube recorder were not around in Liszt's day. That MIGHT have topped this, but nothing else will. Don't fail to get this one.

Words cannot adequately describe how great this art is. In terms of technique, Nojima's solo piano is so proficiently played that the music simply flows from the instrument as if there were none. This is all the more startling since Liszt's works are notoriously difficult to play. Equally importantly, Nojima extracts the intellectual and emotional content of the music as effortlessly as he extracts the notes. Both aspects of Nojima's pianism are domains of genius. In terms of sound, as usual Keith Johnson's purist recording is a joy and treat if a little bit close-in. Recorded sound is too seldom this supremely competent.

The best performance I never listened.
A wonderfully "nervous" performance, that only a genius as Nojima can play in the most realistic spirit of the composer.
At last we have a "non-mannered" pianist, free from the conventionality, which let flow the emotions in a superb exibition of technic but also of romanticism.
Not to be missed!

Minoru Nojima is the Clark Kent of pianists. This mild, self-effacing fellow transforms into supernatural powers when placed in front of a piano. This is by far the most dynamic, most subtle recording of the foremost Liszt piano works to be found. It is the only recording of the Sonata in B minor that is a model of clarity rather than the usual turgid bombast. If you're a Liszt fan buy this by all means. Even if you hate Liszt, give this one a try.

I am often disapppointed in recordings of Liszt's more difficult piano music, as many performers must struggle to merely render the notes faithfully. Here, Liszt's musicality is predominant, supported by nearly flawless technique.

This recording is a superb recital, well and clearly recorded. Rather than repeat the earlier reviewers, let me just add another listener's agreement. A recording most worth listening to and sharing with friends.

Music : 4.5 stars, sonic : 4 stars
Exemplary piano playing, very good rendition of Liszt's works, punchy yet delicate. The third track, Harmonies du soir, for piano (Transcendental Etude No. 11), is played profoundly, spirit up-lifting, as I find the composition itself is sublime & deeply moving.
Sonic: spacious soundfield, piano sounds clean & clear with woody character, but sounds like it was recorded too closely, i.e. not the sound you hear when sitting about 5 - 10 meter away from the piano but a lot closer. Remastered with HDCD.