2024-10-18 11:07:00
The famous Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire would have turned 80 this Friday (17) and to pay homage to one of the most renowned Brazilian musicians of all time, a concert will be dedicated to him in Paris, with the presence of names such as Juliana Steinbach. Based in Paris, Juliana was close to Freire, who lived between France and Brazil, where he died in 2021.
“Nelson Freire was a source of inspiration for all pianists in the world. It was a privilege to be able to get close to a beautiful soul like his and such a perfect pianist,” said Juliana, in an interview with RFI. “He had a naturalness and spontaneity, a wealth of analysis and culture on the history of pianists. Nelson Freire is an example of a musician who had an instrumental trajectory of lifelong progress, a search for a musical ideal, and truly unparalleled pianistic expression.”
Brazilian from Paraíba, Juliana Steinbach moved to France as a child, where she studied piano and consolidated her career as a pianist. He has received awards including the Vittorio Gui de Firenze Competition and has performed in major Parisian venues, as well as in several European cities.
Juliana Steinbach performed several times with Nelson Freire, who died in 2021, in Rio de Janeiro. © Personal archive
Throughout his career, he has played four hands with Nelson Freire on several occasions, such as at the Charolais Brionnais Piano and Chamber Music Festival, which he created and organized in the Burgundy region for almost 20 years. The event brings musicians from abroad and is also a gateway for Brazilians to Europe – through a partnership with the Escola de Música do Estado de São Paulo (Emesp), which provides scholarships.
Read alsoNelson Freire’s ‘successor’, Cristian Budu opens the tribute to the Brazilian pianist in France
Among the audience, Lula and Macron
The French-Brazilian claims that her origins have never been an obstacle to her rise on the European continent, the cradle of classical music. “On the contrary, I believe that Brazilian culture is an advantage because we Brazilians have a great sensitivity for music, rhythm, dance and bodily and artistic expression. This appears in our artistic paths here in Europe and is highly appreciated,” he underlines.
At the beginning of the year Juliana Steinbach had two presidents in her audience, that of France and that of Brazil. During the visit of French leader Emmanuel Macron to Brazil, she was invited to perform during an official lunch hosted by Lula at the Itamaraty Palace, in Brasilia. “It was really a great emotion, because I had the pleasure of playing a Franco-Brazilian repertoire for both of us,” he recalls, saying that Macron was an admirer of Heitor Villa-Lobos and also of Nelson Freire.
The tribute concert to the Brazilian pianist will take place on Friday evening at Studio Laurens, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris.
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