Emperor an old friend for Brazilian pianist

BRILLIANT

Brazilian pianist Nelson Friere will be the special guest soloist when the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra perform at Hobart’s Federation Concert Hall tomorrow night.

Widely regarded as one of the great pianists of today, Friere has clocked up an amazing 70 years playing the instrument, after starting to learn at the age of three.

With the TSO tomorrow night he will play Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 in E Flat Opus 73, Emperor, which has special connotations for Friere. It was the work he played at the 1957 Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition, where he received a grant enabling him study with Bruno Seidlhofer in Vienna.

Friere also celebrated his 70th birthday in 2014 with a recording of the Emperor concerto as part of a Beethoven concerto cycle.

The work was premiered in 1811 by Friedrich Schneider, because by that time Beethoven’s deafness had deteriorated to the extent that he could no longer perform with an orchestra. It was written during Napoleon’s occupation of Vienna.

The first movement is full of pomp and grandeur, which is contrasted by the dreamlike quality of the adagio.

It gradually transforms into the third movement, which alternates between quieter and more bombastic themes.

Tomorrow night’s program will also feature an arrangement for reduced orchestra by Benjamin Britten of What the Wild Flowers Tell Me; the second movement from Symphony No.3 by Gustav Mahler; and Symphony No.9, by Shostakovich.

Nelson Friere will perform at Hobart’s Federation Concert Hall from 7.30pm tomorrow. Tickets start at $33, go to www.tso.org.au for bookings.