Who Is Nobuyuki Tsujii? The Blind Pianist Who Won Gold at the Van Cliburn

Article

Nobuyuki Tsujii didn't win a special or adapted prize at the Van Cliburn Competition — he won the gold medal, period, against sighted competitors on the same terms.

Early Life

Born blind in Tokyo in 1988 due to a condition called microphthalmia, Tsujii began playing a toy piano by ear at age two and started formal training at four. He won first prize at the All Japan Music Competition of Blind Students at age seven and gave his first professional recital at Suntory Hall at twelve.

The Van Cliburn Competition

In 2009, Tsujii became joint gold medalist of the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, tying with Haochen Zhang — one of classical music's most prestigious international prizes.

International Career

Tsujii has since built a major international touring and recording career, including being the subject of Peter Rosen's documentary Touching the Sound: The Improbable Journey of Nobuyuki Tsujii (2014), and signing an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon in April 2024.

What To Know

Tsujii's Van Cliburn gold medal wasn't a sympathy prize or a special category — he won on the same stage, against the same competition, as every other finalist, why his story resonates as one about musicianship first.

Tsujii's rise coincided with, and helped drive, greater international visibility for blind classical musicians generally, and his story has been the subject of documentary films by director Peter Rosen, bringing his path to a wider audience beyond classical music circles.

Easy Japanese

辻井伸行は、生まれつき目が見えないピアニストです。2009年、ヴァン・クライバーン国際ピアノコンクールで金メダルを獲得しました。