The great Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire passed away on November 1 at the age of 77. An internationally acclaimed artist with a glowing international career spanning well over half a century, Freire was certainly one of the foremost artists on the concert stage. I believe that his pianism was of an exalted level that was largely more refined and subtle than was immediately evident, which combined with his affable nature may have led to his not being lionized quite to the extent that his artistry warranted, beyond even the high esteem in which he was held.

If you listen to any of his recordings made over the course of his incredibly long career, whether live or commercially issued, you will hear pianism of the most refined sensibility, on a level that puts one in mind of the great pianists of the 78rpm disc era. I would go so far as to say that if Freire had lived at the time of Moiseiwitsch, Cortot, Schnabel, and Fischer, we would still be listening to his recordings. We therefore have much to celebrate because we have an incredible vastness of recorded material of this superb pianist.

With an artist as capable as Freire, with a repertoire so vast, it is impossible to have a fully comprehensive tribute that shows the full range of his musical sensibilities. He was as wonderful in Baroque and Classical repertoire as in Romantic and more modern works, equally at ease in shorter works as he was in longer, more taxing compositions, as masterful in virtuosic showpieces as he was with more intellectually and emotionally rich repertoire. This tribute will, therefore, be but a glimmer that I hope will provide a lens at some of the more alluring facets of his artistry and encourage a deeper exploration of his rich musical gifts.

We begin with German television footage from 1965 that finds the 21-year-old pianist playing 6 works. Only two of these performances had circulated before the Brazilian Piano Institute (IPB) (to whom all thanks) had uploaded the complete broadcast, and the availability of this complete footage of the young pianist at the dawn of his career is a tremendous gift. The playing throughout, as we know from the oft-viewed Moszkowski and Rachmaninoff, is superb: crystalline fingerwork, wonderful tonal colours, natural timing, transparent voicing, and absolute ease in both virtuoso and lyrical passages.

Just a few years later, again courtesy the IPB, an absolutely stunning May 25, 1970 recital in which Freire plays more substantial works by Bach-Siloti, Beethoven, Villa-Lobos, and Chopin. Aged 25 at the time of this performance, the Brazilian pianist plays with an astounding degree of maturity and intelligence, as well as with fiery passion. With glorious tonal colours, refined dynamics, impeccable timing, and masterfully shaped phrasing, each work stylistically and musically crafted with care yet also a sense of freedom and expansiveness. Never an exaggerated gesture, always musical in every note, phrase, work …. utterly riveting music-making!

While Freire would be widely known for his four-piano performances with his dear friend Martha Argerich, he is less known for his readings of standard chamber repertoire. Here is the only known recording of him playing the Mendelssohn Trio No.1 in D Minor Op.49. with Salomão Rabinovitz violin and Peter Dauelsberg on cello.

In even the most commonly played large-scale works, Freire played impeccably, with a fusion of passion and intelligence that was a hallmark of his pianistic and musical style. One fine example is this incredible reading of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto by Freire, a concert performance of November 24, 1979 with David Zinman conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic. Freire plays here with his patented blend of attentive musicality and transcendent virtuosity, with a vibrant rhythmic pulse (what momentum without it ever being rushed), gorgeous tone, forged singing lines, masterful voicing, and natural rubato.

Freire’s unobtrusive music-making and avoidance of the limelight has made it easy to overlook what a true virtuoso he was. This filmed 1982 University of Maryland performance of Liszt’s towering Sonata in B Minor is one of the great recorded traversals of the work, both impassioned and intelligent, with an enormous tonal range, beautifully sculpted phrases, and volcanic climaxes without any harshness of sonority or exaggerated gestures, with incredible clarity of structure and simultaneous freedom of expression. A truly stunning reading!

One of the challenges of the recording industry is that very few artists will ever record their full repertoire. Here is Freire in a work seldom recorded (or even played) by many pianists: the Debussy Fantasy for Piano & Orchestra, in a gorgeous 2012 London reading that showcases his ravishing sonority, lush phrasing, and beautifully refined tonal and pedal shadings.

Here is Freire in a private recording of a live performance ca.1970 of Chopin’s Ballade No.4 in F Minor Op.52. This is a work long in his repertoire – he actually recorded it commercially when he was 12 (in 1957) and again at 20 (in 1964), his final version for Decca coming much later, in 2015 – but everything is perfectly in place in this particular traversal, highlighting the fact that each performance is a never-to-be-repeated moment and that not all of an artist’s most sublime readings will be permanently preserved. He was in his mid-20s at the time and gives a reading that is of truly astounding depth and power, even for a pianist as consistently inspired and masterful as him. Fortunately this reading now has been preserved – once again, thanks to the Brazilian Piano Institute! – because it really has everything to my ears: remarkably fluid and free phrasing, momentum that is never driven, a truly organic expression of the musical content in which bar lines disappear yet rhythm and timing are never distorted, and wonderful dynamic and tonal nuancing. A truly monumental performance!

For all the fantastic concert recordings we have of Freire, his commercial discs are fortunately also of a very high standard (not always the case with even the greatest artists). His 2010 set of the complete Chopin Nocturnes is a reference reading of these beloved pieces. The entire series can be heard here on YouTube (though I recommend the original discs) – on this page, I will feature the first, Op.9 No.1 …  as always, impeccable balance, nuancing, and tonal colour.

A documentary about Freire shows some very moving footage of him listening to the Brazilian piano legend Guiomar Novaes playing the Melodie from Gluck’s Orfeo, transcribed by Sgambati, before we see him playing it in concert himself. This is a marvellous glimpse into the self-effacing, musically curious and inspired character of this great musician – the awe and admiration with which he listens to Novaes is palpable and visible, all the while he is able to weave his own magic in his own performance.

Another wonderful glimpse into his character comes with this moving scene in which he plays the Schumann-Liszt Widmung (Dedication) for his dear friend Martha Argerich. Dedication was indeed a hallmark of their friendship, with Argerich recently turning down the invitation to serve on the jury at the Chopin Competition and calling off concerts so that she could be with her ailing friend in what would turn out to be his final weeks … which makes this clip all the more moving.

Freire’s grounded and poised pianism puts me in mind of Dinu Lipatti, an artist who turned everything he touched into gold. This performance by Freire of a work forever associated with Lipatti – the Myra Hess transcription of Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – is of sublime beauty.

To close this tribute – which, as stated above, could never be complete enough to do justice to a musician like Freire – his latest recording of that Gluck-Sgambati Melodie from his final Decca album, the highly-recommended Encores which, as always, features impeccable playing. While Freire certainly created magic on stage, we are fortunate that he could do so in the studio when so many others couldn’t to the same degree. As this gorgeous performance reveals, his pianism was on a transcendent level. As we grieve his loss, we can celebrate his artistry and what he brought to us, and – fortunately – what he can continue to bring us.

RIP Maestro.