Obituary: Nelson Freire, pianist (18 October 1944 — 31 October 2021)

The fabulous Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire has died, aged 77.

 
It is with sadness that I record his passing, as I only had the pleasure of hearing him in concert once. At the BBC Proms in 2010 he played Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto and an arrangement of Gluck’s Danza degli spiriti beati from Orfeo ed Euridice was his encore - see video below.

[Interestingly, the concert also included the young Lionel Bringuier conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra in an enthralling account of Roussel’s Third Symphony – how many conductors have that in their repertoire?]

Notes on my programme record it as “an evening of musical meditation”, such was the rapt attention that the audience accorded Freire's every note.

Later, in 2014, I reviewed for Classical Ear his Decca recording of Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto and the last Piano Sonata:

“Riccardo Chailly, the Gewandhaus Orchestra and pianist Nelson Freire present a recording of Beethoven’s 'Emperor' Concerto that resolutely steers clear of the time-worn hackneyed traps of phrasing and tempo that can weigh the music down to the point of disintegration. Instead, there is a crystalline clarity to Freire’s playing even when thickly scored – reminding somewhat of Radu Lupu’s approach to the work – and enough orchestral detail comes through to lend added interest. In the sonata, Freire finds much of eloquence to say within the two-movement structure and in his hands the sublime second movement 'Arietta' especially becomes a thing of intricate poetic beauty, full of contrasting emotions, and with Beethoven's subtly graded dynamic markings in the half-lit passages made to count for much.”

From the tributes being made to Freire today by those that knew him and worked alongside him, I feel I might have caught something of the essence of his art.
Sometimes you only need to hear an artist once or twice to know that their art will stand the test of time and that they will be sorely missed.