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The Royal Festival Hall is closed to the public on Tuesday 16 June. It will reopen for Harry Styles & Jules Buckley Orchestra ticket holders only at 5pm.

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View all events for category: Classical music

Nobuyuki Tsujii: Beethoven, Grieg & Tchaikovsky

Hear music crackling with energy, from Beethoven’s fiery Appassionata Sonata to Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, played by one of today’s most dazzling pianists.

Since his joint win at the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition, Nobuyuki Tsujii has quickly risen to international prominence. His playing combines precision, vivid colours and an instinctive sense of singing melody, revealing fresh depths in familiar music.

He opens his exuberant recital with Liszt’s piano transcription of Beethoven’s song cycle An die ferne Geliebte, a meditation on unrequited desire, and continues with the elemental power of Beethoven’s volcanic Appassionata Sonata.

Grieg’s miniature Lyric Pieces are among the composer’s most quirky and charming creations. Tsujii performs a selection, ranging from the touching simplicity of the ‘Arietta’ to the sinister storytelling of ‘March of the Trolls’ and the joyful exuberance of ‘Wedding Day at Troldhaugen’.

To close, pianist/composer Mikhail Pletnev’s solo piano version of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite transforms the beloved ballet music into a glittering keyboard showpiece. Familiar scenes sparkle anew with wonder and winter magic.

Performers

Nobuyuki Tsujii piano

Repertoire

Mozart: Fantasia in C minor, K.475

Beethoven: Piano Sonata in F minor, Op.57 (Appassionata)

Interval

Grieg: Arietta; Waltz from Lyric Pieces, Bk.1, Op.12; Erotic from Lyric Pieces, Bk.3, Op.43; March of the trolls; Nocturne from Lyric Pieces, Bk.5, Op.54; Wedding day at Troldhaugen from Lyric Pieces, Bk.8, Op.65

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a arr. Pletnev for piano

Need to know

Age guidance
For ages 7+. Under-12s must be accompanied by an adult on our site.
Event information

Box package
You can buy an exclusive box package for this event. More details of our Royal Festival Hall exclusive box package.

Reviews

‘A concert performance that must surely stand as one of the most thrilling, and incredibly thoughtful, ever given anywhere’Limelight

‘His energy seemed to galvanise the audience and I think they were more breathless than the pianist’ClassikON

For your visit

This event is held at the Royal Festival Hall Southbank Centre

The Royal Festival Hall is open six days a week.

Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.