Brazil mourns an influential pianist
RIPWe have been notified of the death of Gilberto Tinetti, an international pianist who cultivated three generations of students at the university of Sao Paolo.
Gilberto had just turned 90.
Last year, police were called in to investigate allegations of neglect and abuse by his companion.
I am shocked to read this. Gilberto played with me for my first concerts in Brazil in 1979 – it was a British Council tour (those were the days). We played the sonatas by Debussy, John Ireland (he believed these were its first performances in Brazil) and Rachmaninov – a very demanding programme for the pianist which he performed with ease. I will never forget our final concert in Curitiba. Held in a converted railway shed, a massive thunderstorm erupted during the Ireland. The music is filled with supernatural reference and it came to life with uncanny malevolence, accompanied by flashes of lightening and thunderclaps as if on cue. Gilberto loved the Ireland and he played it brilliantly – just as he played the Rachmaninov. He was a great guide and companion to a young musician touring his country for the first time and I remember both the man and his artistry with the greatest affection. RIP Gilberto
Learn to spell São Paulo please.
Technically, a writer should be consistent and use the alphabet of the language of the audience being addressed — in this case, English. There is no ã in English, nor do English speakers make any difference in pronunciation between “Sao” and “São.”
This is why writers addressing English readers use “Brazil” and not “Brasil” or “Munich” and not “München.”