These recordings reveal Nelson Freire in 1966, aged 22, making his German radio "début" (at RIAS in Berlin) with a somewhat unusual repertoire: Grieg's Lyric Pieces, which are somewhat removed from any notion of virtuosity, followed by a few moments of the most dramatic of Liszt's works - the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5, which the composer himself referred to as a "heroic elegy"; and the Fifth, which is known by the rather more sober name Preludio. Twenty years later, still in Berlin in 1986, the same Freire would perform Saint-Saëns's Second Concerto, accompanied by the Berlin Radio Symphonic Orchestra, since become known as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin directed by Ádám Fischer; this was a radio concert recorded in public and broadcast live, so no cheating was possible - not that Freire was known for such things, of course. These are fascinating archives which show that the Brazilian pianist in full command of his phenomenal powers at 22, and with a superb maturity which remains youthful and joyful for Saint-Saëns. © SM/Qobuz