Brazilian pianist Nelson Freie died, at the age of 77, in the early hours of this Monday (1st) at his home in Rio de Janeiro. The information was confirmed by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Minas Gerais, which had Nelson as one of the collaborators. The cause of death has yet to be revealed.
Two months ago, the artist had canceled his participation as a juror in the Chopin Contest in Warsaw, one of the most important in the world, which took place in October.
Born in Minas Gerais from Boa Esperança, Nelson showed himself to be a precocious talent and participated in his first piano recital at the age of 5 years. At 12, he became one of the winners of the Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition. At the age of 19, he won first place in the Vianna da Motta International Competition, in Lisbon.
At the age of 24, Nelson was named by the celebrated American magazine Time as “one of the greatest pianists of this or any generation” after a performance in the United States, when he debuted with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
He was recognized worldwide as a great interpreter of Beethoven and Chopin. After spending most of his career without making recordings, he was included in the famous and celebrated compilation released by Philips Records in 1999, called “Great pianists of the 20th century”, and began releasing albums in 2001, such as work “Debussy”.
Fabio Mechetti, conductor and artistic director of the Philharmonic of Minas Gerais said that, “the world is losing one of its greatest pianists, Brazil, one of its greatest Brazilians”.
The Osesp Foundation also spoke out after the death of Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire. “Internationally recognized as one of the greatest geniuses of today in the field of arts, he was a pride of Brazilian music and musicians”.
French writer and music critic Alain Lompech, a close friend of Nelson Freire, lamented the death on Twitter. “Music has just lost Nelson Freire, one of its most admirable servants who died tonight at his home in Rio,” he said.
In update
Reference: CNN Brasil
