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Nelson Freire

Memories - The Unreleased Recordings 1970-2019

Decca Classics
Release Date: October 14, 2022

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Nelson Freire Interview
1 Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30: Mélodie (Dance of the Blessed Spirits) 3:17  
2 J.S. Bach: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, Cantata BWV 147: Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring 3:26  
3 Beethoven: Andante favori, WoO 57 07:55  
4 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58: I. Allegro moderato 18:07  
5 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58: II. Andante con moto 05:10  
6 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58: III. Rondo 9:15  
7 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: Bagatelle, Op. 119, No. 11 1:43  
8 R. Strauss: Burlesque in D Minor for Piano and Orchestra, AV 85 19:26  
9 Debussy: La plus que lente, L. 121 04:04  
10 Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4, W264: I. Prelúdio (Introdução) 03:23  
11 Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 1, BB 91, Sz. 83: I. Allegro moderato - Allegro 09:51  
12 Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 1, BB 91, Sz. 83: II. Andante 10:16  
13 Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 1, BB 91, Sz. 83: III. Allegro molto 07:03  
14 Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83: I. Allegro non troppo 17:36  
15 Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83: II. Allegro appassionato 09:13  
16 Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83: III. Andante - Più adagio 12:43  
17 Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83: IV. Allegretto grazioso  
18 Brahms: Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2 05:07  
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Decca Classics is proud to announce Nelson Freire - Memories: The Unreleased Recordings 1970-2019. The release pays tribute to the great Brazilian pianist, who passed away on 1 November 2021 and would have been 78 this October. It includes previously unreleased studio recordings and broadcast performances spanning concertos from Beethoven to Bartok.

Decca Classics Label Director and Nelson Freire’s long time recording producer, Dominic Fyfe, says,

“We lost Nelson too early. He still had many records to make. This two-disc set ‘Memories’ will hopefully serve as both a consolation and celebration. Searching through notes made at past sessions I discovered a handful of tracks which had never been released plus Nelson’s own commentary on the radio broadcasts included here. The recordings span almost five decades and salute this wonderful artist and friend. He was one of the Greats and his discography on Decca will forever be a jewel in our crown”.

Listeners will be able to hear unreleased recordings of Freire made in Berlin in 2014 of Bach, Gluck and Beethoven, including the Andante favori – his only recording of this piece. These are coupled with broadcast performances given by Freire between 1970 and 1985 which were personal favourites of his: Beethoven’s 4th with the Saint-Saens cadenzas and a Brahms 2, conducted by Horst Stein, of which Nelson said, “this is quite special”. Rarities include a Bartok 1 from 1970, the year in which he debuted the piece, and the only performance he ever gave of Richard Strauss’ Burleske. To complete the collection, pieces by Beethoven, Brahms, Villa-Lobos and Debussy, previously only ever released as digital bonus tracks, are presented here on CD for the first time.

  • Decca's 'Memories: The Unreleased Recordings' is a fine tribute to Nelson Freire / Audiophile Audition
    Posted At: December 5, 2022 12:00 AM
    Audiophile Audition - Gary Lemco writes….This fine tribute to Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire (1944-2021) presents us with previously unreleased Decca recordings from Berlin, 2014, and bonus tracks from radio broadcasts, 1970-1985, with several pieces in their premiere appearance on compact disc. These so-called “posthumous” thoughts reveal Freire as a pianist of exceptional color nuance, capable of hearty ...
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  • The Poetry of Nelson Freire's Bach on 99.5WCRB
    Posted At: May 14, 2018 12:00 AM

    The virtually limitless well of music by J.S. Bach has always had a prominent place on radio airwaves in Boston. Whether it's an iconic work like the Toccata and Fugue in D minor or a rarely heard but emotionally riveting church cantata, Bach's music is a touchstone, returning listeners to a foundation on which so much subsequent music has been built.  Hear The Poetry of  Nelson Freire'...
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  • Seong-Jin Cho, Yundi and Nelson Freire close out 'Chopin and His Europe' festival in Warsaw / Radio Poland
    Posted At: August 31, 2017 12:00 AM

    The 19-day Chopin and His Europe festival has come to a close in Warsaw and showcased more than 40 events in all --including recitals, orchestral and chamber concerts, oratorios and a semi-staged performance of Verdi's opera Macbeth – and such pianists as Chopin competition winners Seong-Jin Cho, Yulianna Avdeeva, Yundi and Garrick Ohlsson. Ohlsson won the international Chopin piano competition...
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  • Nelson Freire - Bach / WGBH/WCRB: CD of the Week
    Posted At: April 18, 2016 12:00 AM

    From the imagination and curiosity of the WCRB staff, this is where you'll find the CD Of the Week from WGBH/WCRB - Classical Radio Boston. Check back often for the deep dive, the spontaneous revelation, and the beyond-the-broadcast connections that bring the music alive. This week's pick is from Nelson Freire. The Brazilian pianist has made his first studio recorded recital of the music of B...
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  • Nelson Freire - Bach / KDFC: CD of the Week
    Posted At: April 4, 2016 12:00 AM

    Tune in throughout the week for tracks from KDFC's CD of the Week. More to discover with KDFC and KDFC.com.    For the Week of April 4, it's Bach by pianist Nelson Freire. In his latest recording, Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire "distills a lifetime of experience with Bach into 80 minutes of authoritative playing." In advance of his recitals here in the Bay Area this May, we'll...
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  • Nelson Freire - Bach / WFMT: Featured CD of the Week
    Posted At: March 20, 2016 12:00 AM

    Nelson Freire brings a lifetime's experience to his first-ever album devoted to the music of Bach. The release provides a perfect overview of Bach on the keyboard: original works such as the Fourth Partita and Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue; one of Bach's own keyboard transcriptions (the slow movement of Marcello's Oboe Concerto) plus a selection of transcriptions by Busoni, Siloti and Myra Hess. Bach...
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  • Nelson Freire - Chopin / KDFC: CD Of the Week
    Posted At: May 25, 2015 12:00 AM

    In the third of three new landmark albums on the Decca label, Nelson Freire marks his 70th birthday year with a stunning recording of Chopin's lyrical and brilliant Piano Concerto No. 2 made in Cologne with the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln and Lionel Bringuier, one of the most talked-about of the younger generation of conductors. The release also features some favorite Chopin solo wor...
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  • Nelson Freire - Chopin is WQXR: Album Of the Week
    Posted At: March 9, 2015 12:00 AM

    The veteran Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire caps his 70th birthday year with the third of three new albums on the Decca label. It features Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, a work whose pianistic brilliance has sometimes been overshadowed by its staid orchestral writing. Cologne's Gürzenich-Orchester brings grace and intelligence to its part while Freire brings out the score's introvert character, ...
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  • Nelson Freire - Radio Days / WFMT 'New Release Of the Week'
    Posted At: November 2, 2014 12:00 AM

    To celebrate Nelson Freire's 70th birthday, this special 2-CD collection presents concerto repertoire that is not currently in his Decca catalog. The set features performances of concertos with leading conductors such as Kurt Masur and David Zinman. Drawing on radio archives, these recordings cover a ten-year period (1969-79) when Freire was making few recordings at the beginning of his career in Europe....
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