Nelson Freire

Life

Nelson José Pinto Freire was born on 18 October 1944 in Boa Esperança. He began playing the piano at age three. He replayed from memory pieces his older sister, Nelma, had just performed. His teachers in Brazil were Lucia Branco, a former student of Arthur De Greef, a pupil of Franz Liszt, and her assistant Nise Obino. He gave his first public recital at the age of four.

In 1957, Freire's performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, at the age of 12. He was awarded 7th place at the Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition. He subsequently received a Brazilian government grant to study in Vienna with Bruno Seidlhofer. By 1964, Freire had won his first prize at the Vianna da Motta International Music Competition in Lisbon (ex-aequo with Vladimir Krainev) and he also received the Dinu Lipatti Medal and the Harriet Cohen Medal in London. In December 2001, he chaired the jury for the Marguerite Long Competition in Paris. His debut at The Proms was in August 2005.

In general, Freire tended to avoid the limelight, publicity, and interviews. However, in 2011, he withdrew from a scheduled engagement with the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira (OSB) and conductor Roberto Minczuk, in support of the orchestra musicians, following the dismissal of about three dozen OSB musicians by Minczuk. Freire appeared as soloist with the world's most prestigious orchestras, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre National de France, the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

Freire died from a fall at his home in Rio de Janeiro on 1 November 2021, two weeks after his 77th birthday.

Recordings

Freire recorded for Sony Classical, Teldec, Philips, Decca, and Deutsche Grammophon. He recorded Liszt's piano concertos with the Dresden Philharmonic, conducted by Michel Plasson for Berlin Classics. Freire recorded commercially with Martha Argerich, with whom he shared a long-time musical collaboration and friendship. Freire later recorded exclusively with Decca, the first result of which are recordings devoted to the works of Chopin, receiving the Diapason d'Or, a "Choc" award from Le Monde de la musique, as well as being rated a "10" by the Répertoire magazine and "recommended" by Classica. The recordings comprise, in two CDs, the 24 piano études and the 2nd and 3rd piano sonatas, as well as the Barcarolle op. 60. Subsequent Decca recordings include a 2-CD set of the Brahms piano concertos with the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly, which won the 2007 Classic FM and Gramophone awards in the Record of the Year and Concerto categories, and CDs devoted to Beethoven's piano sonatas, Chopin, and Debussy. He marked the 2011 bicentenary of the birth of Franz Liszt with a Decca CD entitled Harmonies du Soir. He also recorded Brazilian piano music for Decca.

An archived recording of Freire at the age 12–13 includes his 1957 live concert performance in the final round of the Rio de Janeiro Piano Competition of that year, which launched his career, as well as pieces he recorded immediately after the competition.

Awards

Music

Freire's recordings garnered awards such as the Gramophone Award, Diapason d'Or, and the Latin Grammy Award (best classical album), in addition to three Grammy Award nominations.

• Edison Award for the CBS recording of Chopin's 24 Préludes
• 2002: Soliste de l’Année 2002 (Soloist of the year) at the Victoires de la Musique
• 2010: Diapason d’or for Chopin's Nocturnes
• 2010: Quarterly Critics Choice of the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik for a live performance with Martha Argerich at the Salzburg Festival
• 2011: Quarterly Critics Choice for Liszt's: Harmonies du soir
• 2016: Echo Klassik for Bach

Nominations for the Grammy Awards

• 2005: Category: Best solo performance, for Chopin's Études, Op. 10, Barcarolle, Op. 60, and Sonata No. 2
• 2006: Category: Best solo performance with orchestra, for Brahms: The Piano Concertos
• 2010: Category: Best solo performance, for Chopin's Nocturnes

Orders

• 2007: Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
• 2011: Legion of Honour

References

References

1. Kozinn, Allan. (20 April 2009). "For Dramatic Impact? A Subtle Palette". The New York Times.
2. Lopez, Louis-Valentin. (1 November 2021). ""La perte d'un géant" : le pianiste Nelson Freire nous a quittés".
3. Allen, David. (2021-11-04). "Nelson Freire, Piano Virtuoso of Warmth and Finesse, Dies at 77". The New York Times.
4. (22 January 1987). "Pianist searches for improvement and change". [[The Vancouver Sun]].
5. Andrew Clements. (1 August 2005). "BBCSSO/ Volkov". [[The Guardian]].
6. [[Jean-Pierre Thiollet]], ''88 notes pour piano solo'', "Solo nec plus ultra", Neva Editions, 2015, p.51. {{ISBN. 978-2-3505-5192-0.
7. Leslie Kendall. (2 April 2000). "Pianist Takes Back Seat, But His Talent Doesn't". [[The New York Times]].
8. Andrew Clements. (3 September 2014). "Nelson Freire: Radio Days – Concerto Broadcasts 1968–1979 review – not a dud among them". [[The Guardian]].
9. Cristina Grillo. (4 June 2011). "Solistas incendeiam crise na OSB". Folha de S.Paulo.
10. "Nelson Freire".
11. (2 November 2021). "Nelson Freire caiu em casa e teve uma concussão cerebral, diz assessora; corpo será enterrado em Minas".
12. (November 2021). "Nelson Freire, um dos mais talentosos pianistas do mundo, morre no Rio aos 77 anos".
13. "Nelson Freire, um dos mais talentosos pianistas do mundo, morre no Rio aos 77 anos".
14. Nicholas Kenyon. (6 December 2009). "Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire: Live from Salzburg". [[The Observer]].
15. Andrew Clements. (16 June 2006). "Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2, Freire/ Leipzig Gewandhaus O/ Chailly". [[The Guardian]].
16. Andrew Clements. (31 May 2007). "Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Opp 27 no 2, 53, 81a and 110, Nelson Freire". [[The Guardian]].
17. Andrew Clements. (4 March 2010). "Chopin: The Nocturnes". [[The Guardian]].
18. Andrew Clements. (23 January 2009). "Debussy: Preludes Book 1; Children's Corner; etc: Nelson Freire". [[The Guardian]].
19. Andrew Clements. (28 April 2011). "Liszt: B minor Ballade; Six Consolations, etc – review". [[The Guardian]].
20. Andrew Clements. (22 August 2012). "Brasileiro: Villa-Lobos and His Friends – review". [[The Guardian]].
21. Sidney Molina. (25 June 2012). "Lançamento histórico traz primeiras gravações de Nelson Freire aos 12, tocando Beethoven e Chopin". Folha de S.Paulo.
22. "Latin GRAMMYs 2013 Best Classical Album".
23. (23 November 2020). "Nelson Freire".
24. "Nelson Freire". Géza Anda Foundation.
25. "Liszt Harmonies du Soir / Freire".
26. (January 2010). "Quarterly Critics Choice". Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.
27. (March 2011). "Quarterly Critics Choice". Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.
28. Schwenger, Dietmar. (20 July 2016). "Echo Klassik 2016: Alle Preisträger". MusikWoche.
29. (2020-11-23). "Nelson Freire". [[Grammy Awards]].