Nobuyuki Tsujii Beethoven Piano Sonata No.29 "Hammerklavier" & An die ferne Geliebte (UHQCD+DVD)

Numbered, Limited Edition UHQCD!
Playable on any CD player, the Ultimate High Quality CD greatly surpasses all previous CDs before it!
The Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, recently signed by Deutsche Grammophon. On this limited UHQCD he dedicates himself to Beethoven's impressive "Hammerklavier Sonata", known as a technically and physically demanding work given its sheer scope. The piece is complemented by Liszt's piano transcription of the song cycle "To the Distant Beloved, Op. 98". This edition includes a DVD of the recording sessions, the photo shoot for the artwork that took place in Berlin, as well as an approximately 9-minute interview with this extraordinary artist, who was born blind as a result of microphthalmia and performed at the age of twelve at Suntory Hall (Tokyo, Japan) and Carnegie Hall (New York, USA).
"It's such a long work that it's very difficult to keep your concentration," says Nobuyuki, who has to play every score by heart due to his blindness. "I spent a lot of time preparing for the recording and struggled especially with the third set. You can't just make the music your own, but the more you play it, the deeper you feel it. Aspects of Beethoven's experience overlap with mine – he lost his hearing and yet wrote wonderful and very difficult pieces like this sonata. That's another reason why I worked on it with the greatest respect."
UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. UHQCDs, unlike conventional CDs, are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. To protect the softer photopolymer from scratching, another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied. The combination results in a significantly reduced reflection of the laser light inside the CD and an unrivalled precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with normal CD players. Musically, the result is a sound that is strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.
While Universal Music Japan's first UHQCD series relied on the DSD data of previous SHM-SACD releases, albums that had not previously been released as SHM-SACD are now being released with increasing popularity. Typically, the master tapes of the Universal Archive are re-converted to DSD for this purpose. UHQCDs are ideal for music lovers who want to get as close as possible to the sound of the recording, but do not have a SACD player.

Features:

• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Made in Japan
• Superior Crystal Sound
• Ultimate High Quality CD
• XRCD-Like Luxury Digipak
• Playable on conventional CD players

Musicians:

• Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano

Selections:

UHQCD
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata No.29 in B-Flat major, Op.106 "Hammerklavier"
1. To the distant beloved: On the hill I sit, peering
2. To the distant beloved: Where the mountains are so blue
3. To the distant beloved: Light sailors in the heights
4. To the distant beloved: These clouds in the heights
5. To the distant beloved: The May sweeps, the meadow blooms
6. To the distant beloved: Take them then, these songs
7. Fortepiano: I. Allegro
8. Hammerklavier: II. Scherzo. Assai Vivace – Presto
9. Hammerklavier: III. Adagio sostenuto, apassionato e con molto sentimento
10. Fortepiano: IV. Allegro – Allegro Risoluto
DVD
1. Recording of the recording and artwork shooting and interviews held in Berlin