Peter Nero (born Bernard Nierow; May 22, 1934 – July 6, 2023) was an American pianist and pops conductor.[1] He directed the Philly Pops from 1979 to 2013, and earned two Grammy Awards, including the award for Best New Artist in 1962, as well as a total of 8 nominations.[2]
Early life
Born in Brooklyn, New York,[1] as Bernard Nierow, he started his formal music training at the age of seven.[3] He studied piano under Frederick Bried. By the time he was 14, he was accepted to New York City's High School of Music & Art and won a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music, where he later studied part-time.[1][3] He took private lessons from Abram Chasins and Constance Keene.[3] Keene once wrote in an issue of Keyboard Classics "Vladimir Horowitz was Peter's greatest fan!" He graduated from Brooklyn College in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.[3]
Career
Nero made his television debut at the age of 17, playing "Rhapsody in Blue" on a special hosted by Paul Whiteman.[3] He recorded his first album under the name of Bernie Nerow in July 1957 under the Mode label MOD-LP117 which shows his technical virtuosity in the jazz genre. Nero recorded Piano Forte in 1961, and won a Grammy Award in 1961 for Best New Artist.[3][4]The next year, he won the Grammy for Best Performance By An Orchestra Or Instrumentalist With Orchestra - Primarily Not Jazz Or For Dancing for his album The Colorful Peter Nero.[4] Since then, he has garnered 10 additional nominations and released 67 albums. Nero's early association with RCA Victor produced 23 albums in eight years. His subsequent move to Columbia Records resulted in the million-selling single and album Summer of '42.
Nero and Ethel Merman on The Bell Telephone Hour in 1964.
Hailed as one of the premier interpreters of George Gershwin, Nero starred in the Emmy Award-winning S'Wonderful, S'Marvelous, S'Gershwin (1972).[5] Other TV credits included performances on PBS-TV's Piano Pizzazz and with the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., on its July 4 special titled A Capitol Fourth. Nero served as music director and pianist for the PBS-TV special The Songs of Johnny Mercer: Too Marvelous for Words (1997) with co-stars Johnny Mathis, Melissa Manchester and many members of The POPS.[6]
In 1963, Nero composed and performed the musical score for the motion picture Sunday in New York.[3] The title song has been recorded by over two dozen vocalists, and the score was nominated for both a Golden Globe and Hollywood Reporter Award.[citation needed] He also made an appearance in the film with Jane Fonda, Rod Taylor, and Cliff Robertson. In the film, Jane Fonda's character gave her brother (Robertson) a Nero recording.
Nero was the founding music director of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, which he led from 1979 to 2013.[7]
From 1990 to 1999, Nero was also Pops Music Director of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, conducting and performing with his jazz trio throughout Southeastern Florida.
Nero's recordings included albums with symphony orchestras: On My Own, Classical Connections and My Way. He recorded Peter Nero and Friends where he collaborated with Mel Torme, Maureen McGovern, Doc Severinsen and others. Nero's last albums Love Songs for a Rainy Day and More in Love focused on romantic themes. By popular demand, four of his earlier recordings were reissued. He appeared on Rod Stewart's album As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II. He released over 60 albums in his career.
With Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops Orchestra, Gershwin – Fantasy And Improvisations (First Recording) / Concerto In F (RCA Victor Red Seal, 1968)
Live albums
In Person (RCA Victor, 1963)
Peter Nero On Tour (RCA Victor, 1966)
Personal life and death
Nero was active in many charitable causes, including the funding of school music programs, fundraising for the building of new arts centers across the country, and research on cancer, dystonia and autism.
Nero married Marcia Dunner and had two children, Beverly and Jedd, and three grandchildren; Robert, Nicole and Gordon.[3] He died in Eustis, Florida, on July 6, 2023, at the age of 89.[8]
Awards and honors
In an interview with Keyboard Magazine, Ray Charles was asked who his favorite pianist was. "Art Tatum could play anything he wanted to," Charles replied, "...and Peter Nero [also] plays his buns off!"
In addition to the two Grammy Awards, Nero's honors included six honorary doctorates, the most recent from Drexel University in 2004, and the International Society of Performing Arts Presenters Award for Excellence in the Arts. He was also included on historic Walks of Fame in Philadelphia and Miami, Florida. In 1999, he received the Pennsylvania Distinguished Arts Award from Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge; previous honorees include Marian Anderson, James Michener, Andrew Wyeth and Riccardo Muti. In 2009, Nero was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Federation of Musicians.[9]
