The Mariinsky Theatre is paying tribute to one of its great friends, the outstanding Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire who died on 1 November. Concerts of piano music on 14 and 15 November are to be dedicated to the legacy of this thoughtful and sensitive musician, a dazzling genius of the Romantic repertoire.
The concert dedicated to Nelson Freire was a spontaneous performance by Denis Matsuev at the Rachmaninoff Hall following the main concert last Thursday. On Sunday at 14.00, Mao Fujita will be appearing at the new chamber Rachmaninoff Hall. Later, at 17.00 at the Concert Hall, the young Japanese virtuoso will be performing Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto with the Mariinsky Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev. The programme also includes Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony. At 19.30 at the Rachmaninoff Hall there will be a recital by Alexander Kantorov, winner of the Tchaikovsky International Competition in 2019.
On Monday 15 November at 18.00, at the Concert Hall guest soloists will be performing under the baton of maestro Gergiev. Acclaimed performer and teacher Alexander Toradze will be presenting Scriabin’s Prométhée, ou le Poème du feu, while Alexander Kantorov will perform Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No 2. Audiences that evening will also hear Ravel’s Boléro, one of the Mariinsky Orchestra’s calling cards.
All of this is an act of remembrance honouring Nelson Freire, a tribute to an outstanding maestro, and a man who was the pride of the Brazilian school of music. I will never forget those precious days, those hours, indeed those very years of camaraderie and friendship with such an amazing musician, says Valery Gergiev. Nelson Freire loved music and shared this passion with his audiences throughout his life. At the age of three he began to play the piano, at the age of five he made his first public appearance and at the age of twelve he won his first major competition.
Nelson Freire loved music and shared this love with audiences throughout his conscious life. At the age of three he began to learn the piano, appearing to a public audience for the first time at the age of five, and at the age of twelve he received his first award at a major competition.
By 1964, when Freire, who had studied under Lucia Branco and Bruno Seidlhofer, shared, with Vladimir Krainev, 1st prize at the José Vianna da Motta International Music Competition in Lisbon, his international career was already assured. There followed experiments of co-creation, countless tours and studio recordings.
He appeared with such conductors as Pierre Boulez, Lionel Bringuier, Riccardo Chailly, Charles Dutoit, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur and Seiji Ozawa. Has appeared with ensembles including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the London, New York and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Orchestra and Leipzig’s Gewandhausorchester. Freire collaborated with the Sony/CBS, Teldec, DGG, IPAM and London labels, and was an exclusive artist for Decca.
The pianist enjoyed a particularly close creative collaboration with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra. On numerous occasions, Freire appeared at the Moscow Easter Festival, the Stars of the White Nights festival and the International Piano Festival. He was twice a member of the jury of the Tchaikovsky Competition, in 2011 and in 2019, on both occasions being invited by maestro Valery Gergiev.
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