Iconic pianist Nelson Freire dies in Rio de Janeiro at 77 years of age

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, one of the greatest names in world classical music, died Monday, November 1, at his residence in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 77, his employer confirmed.

Freire, whose cause of death was not disclosed, began playing the piano when he was only three years old and became one of Brazil’s greatest artists, which led him to an outstanding career and a place on the world’s leading stages.

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After undergoing shoulder surgery in 2019 due to a fall during a walk in Rio de Janeiro, his return to theaters was scheduled for last year, but the pianist was forced to postpone plans due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Born in 1944 in the city of Boa Esperança, in the state of Minas Gerais, Freire was a child prodigy. At 12, he moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he took lessons from the renowned pianists Nise Obino and Lúcia Branco.

It did not take long for him to emerge as one of the winners of the Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition and, from then on, he went on to perform in concerts all over the world.

Throughout his career, Freire took the stage in nearly 70 countries and, after a performance in the United States when he was only 24 years old, Time magazine called him “one of the greatest pianists of this or any other generation”.

Among the awards he received in various parts of the globe are the Classic FM Gramophone Awards 2007, considered the “Oscar” of classical music, and, more recently, the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) 2019, when he was honored for his entire career.

He was likewise profiled in a documentary by filmmaker Joao Moreira Salles in 2003. He was featured in a collection by various record companies on the 74 most outstanding pianists of the 20th century.

The news of his death shocked the music world in Brazil, and several performers, music critics, and personalities expressed their feelings for his early death.

Maestro and pianist Joao Carlos Martins, another of the great Brazilian names in music, mourned the loss of his “friend” in statements to CBN radio and said that Freire will be “preserved for eternity by his recordings.”

“Nelson was in demand by all the great European orchestras in the United States and Asia. He was a person who, above all, before being a great pianist, was a good person,” he said.