Nelson Freire

Álvaro Teixeira: I know that you have had many of your records awarded in France, namely with "diapasons d'or". What is your relation with the French market and public?

Nelson Freire: At the moment yes because I am living there. Living is a way of saying because I consider that I live in Rio de Janeiro, but when I am travelling I have my little corner in France. So with that I became more familiar with everything regarding the country etc. But it's always a great pleasure to come back to Portugal. I have many good memories here. I feel very good here. It reminds me a little of the Brazil of my childhood, a Brazil that no longer exists today but which is still preserved here and it is a great pleasure to be here.

AT: As far as I remember the last diapasons d'or you received were for records by Schumman and Chopin...

NF: Exactly. Those were the last two I did but I recently did another one, a Chopin record as well, which is coming out in the next few months. At the end of the year I should do the first Brahms concert with Ricardo Chaily and the Leipziz Orchestra.

AT: So you have a very particular affinity with these composers...

NF: Without a doubt. They are composers that... we have relations since my childhood... It's like I'm family.

(laughs)

AT: But with more modern composers... Nelson is a pianist of the "old romantic tradition", isn't he? He approaches very little the music of the twentieth century...

NF: Not of the 20th century! I play quite a lot of things... A lot of Villa-Lobos, Prokovief, Bartok. This is 20th century but you can't say that it is modern anymore, right?

(laughs)

NF: But it is natural that I made a choice. It is difficult to do everything, right? There are also certain things that for me have an interiority. A question of affinity, of taste... of will... That's it.

AT: You played a lot with Marta Argerich and it was from there that your figure gained worldwide dimension. What memories do you have of that time?

NF: Memories... We just did a tour in Brazil and Argentina and in a month we'll be playing in the US. We are still playing... I don't know. It's a very old and very deep friendship. Playing with Marta is a...

AT: She's a great pianist...

NF: More than that, right?

AT: But she hardly ever plays solo now.

NF: She might play again. She's played solo a lot. It's a matter that she doesn't like to be alone. Neither on stage or off stage. It's an option that I hope is momentary.

AT: But it's been going on for a few years now...

NF: YEAH. It's been going on for a few years now. But nothing is impossible.

AT: I was told in Argentina that she did a solo recital there less than half a dozen years ago...

NF: I know she played in Japan and also that in New York she did half a concert alone. She played Bach, Chopin and Prokovief. That was three or four years ago.

AT: Which orchestra conductors do you most enjoy working with?

NF: Ha has many. There are several. I enjoyed playing with this one (Lawrence Foster). Many years ago we toured together. It was in '69. It was also with Rudolfo Kempf who was a boss that I loved and is maybe who I have the best memories with. But that tour was United States and Canada and it has a very funny experience because it was the first time I played with orchestra with a cabinet (wall) piano. One of the concerts was in the Bahamas Islands and there was only a white piano in a wardrobe... The Liszt concerto - imagine that! And Lawrence conducted it. There was no other piano and I ended up playing it.

(laughs)

AT: When are you coming back to Portugal for a solo recital?

NF: Hopefully soon.

AT: Me too.

(laughs)