Nelson Friere (L) – Ingo Metzmacher (R) Nelson Friere: One of the most well-known Pianists of his generation.
Over to Berlin this week for a concert by the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, led by Ingo Metzmacher and featuring the late Nelson Friere in music of Beethoven and Shostakovich, recorded on May 11, 2009 by RBB Radio, Berlin.
The orchestra gets straight to work with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, Nelson Friere, soloist – finishing his appearance with an encore; Gluck: excerpts from Orpheus and Euridice, transcribed for piano by Giovanni Sgambati. The concert concludes with Shostakovich: Symphony Nr,. 11 “Year 1905”.
Nelson Friere – was both a solo and collaborative performer. Appearing with some of the world’s most renowned orchestras — including the London Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic — he leaves behind a legacy of extensive discography and numerous accolades, including three Grammy Award nominations. His recordings garnered a Gramophone Award, Diapason d’Or, and the Latin Grammy Award, in addition to Quarterly Critics Choice awards.
Freire was born in 1944 and began playing the piano at age three and gave his first public recital at age four. When he turned 13, Freire performed Beethoven’s “Emperor” concerto at the Rio International Piano Competition and won a scholarship to study in Vienna. Although Freire tended to avoid excessive publicity and attention, he did record commercially with his collaborative partner and friend, Martha Argerich. His solo repertoire includes works by Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, Schumann, and Debussy, but he was best known for his interpretation of works by Chopin.
The pianist last performed in public in 2019, before injuring his shoulder and then postponing his performances due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Few pianists alive convey the sheer joy and exhilaration of being masters of their craft more vividly and uncomplicatedly than Nelson Freire…[his] dazzling technique is just a means to a musical end, never something to be flaunted for its own sake,” wrote music critic Andrew Clements in the London Guardian in 2014.
Nelson Freire died on November 1, 2021 at age 77. It was announced by Decca Classics, who Friere recorded exclusively with since 2001, that he passed away on November 1st in his Rio de Janeiro home.
Freire leaves behind his love of Chopin and an extensive and impressive library of recordings for audiences to listen to, enjoy, and learn from today.
Ingo Matzmacher is consistently committed to music, especially of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Making the new sound familiar and the familiar sound new has been his focus since the beginning of his career.
Ingo Metzmacher was General Music Director of the Hamburg Staatsoper from 1997 to 2005, subsequently Chief Conductor at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, and from 2007 to 2010 Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. From 2016 to 2025, he served as Artistic Director of the KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen.
Ingo Metzmacher is a frequent guest with major orchestras and opera houses and is the author of two books: Keine Angst vor neuen Tönen [Don’t Be Afraid of New Sounds] and Vorhang auf! Oper entdecken und erleben [Curtain Up! Discovering and Experiencing Opera].
Enjoy the concert.
