Nobuyuki Tsujii - Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition (2010)

Nobuyuki Tsujii tackles another virtuosic warhorse of the literature for this 2011 release, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The result is a mixture of impressive skill and highly individualistic choices. Tsujii has a great deal of control in his touch, able to produce soft, gentle colorings, as in the second "Promenade" statement, and pounding bass-lines, as in "Bydlo." However, often his choices for tempo and rubato will strike anyone who is very familiar with the work as definitely odd. In "Bydlo," the tempo is steady, but it is not ponderous or slow enough to paint a picture of a gigantic or very heavily laden oxcart. In other movements, it's almost as if Tsujii over-internalized the music when he learned it, like when you repeat a word so often it starts to sound like nonsense. Once in a while, this works to the music's advantage, as in the "Limoges" and "Baba Yaga" movements where the little bit of extra speed or shaping through rubato adds to the character. He also brings out some unexpected lines in "Baba Yaga" which most performers don't and which contribute another welcome dimension to the movement. But other times, as in "Gnomus" and "Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle," the rhythmic readings don't necessarily evoke the expected picture. The disc is filled out with a couple of Liszt showpieces that also let Tsujii display some fine finger work and control, but need just a little more time to ripen to full interpretive maturity. This release is satisfying as an example of the artist's ability, but not an essential performance of Pictures. -- Patsy Morita