Martha Argerich Chamber

Four decades of friendship and musical partnership brings these two titans of classical music together again. Eagerly anticipated follow-up to their now-legendary recording of the first concerto. Recorded live in concert in Japan in May 2019.

Martha Argerich does not give solo piano recitals anymore. She does something better: she plays duo piano and chamber music with her friends and students. She's been doing it for a couple of decades, and willful as she is, she probably won't change. Besides, when it comes to duo piano and chamber music recitals, Argerich with her friends and students can't be beat. Take, for example, this three-disc set of performances taken from the 2005 Lugano Festival.

All too often, chamber music collaborations between established, accomplished soloists do not yield favorable results. Merely putting together virtuosic musicians does not mean they will play well together. Such is not the case with this recording of Martha Argerich's 2006 festival in Lugano. This album represents an amazing synthesis of well-known artists, musicians just coming into their own fame, as well as compositions ranging from standard repertoire to rarely heard works. Argerich's decision to include violinist Renaud Capuçon and brother Gautier Capuçon was wise indeed, as their energetic and fiendishly virtuosic playing is nearly enough to carry the CD on its own.

As with previous issues in this outstanding series from Martha Argerich's Lugano Festival, the performers included here range from acknowledged masters such as cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Stephen Kovacevich to near unknowns such as bassoonist Vincent Godel and clarinetist Corrado Giuffredi. Likewise, the repertoire ranges from the fairly well-known Schumann D minor Violin Sonata and Janácek Concertino to the virtually unknown Arensky Piano Quintet and Pletnev Fantasia elvetica. But no matter the performers or the repertoire, the results are superlative.

Martha Argerich and Friends Live from the Lugano Festival 2009 features a lot of friends but not a lot of Martha Argerich. Although the friends are very good (though not very well known), they are nowhere nearly as good as Argerich, but how many performers could reasonably be expected to be as good as the insanely talented Argentinean pianist? This three-CD set contains 12 pieces, and Argerich plays on just five of them. Inevitably, these are the strongest performances, leading off with a stirring Fantasiestücke for piano trio by Schumann, with Argerich and Renaud and Gautier Capuçon.

Martha Argerich's annual appearances at the Lugano Festival are highly sought after by her fans. Featuring the Argentinean pianist plus any number of her friends and protégés in a huge range of repertoire, the performances are as enjoyable as they are unusual and as thrilling as they are insightful. EMI began releasing three-disc sets containing a selection of the Lugano Festival's finest performances in 2002. In this set from the 2007 festival, Argerich is joined by such old friends as cellist Mischa Maisky and violinist Renaud Capuçon and by such recent protégés as pianists Nicholas Angelich and Gabriela Montero in works that range from Beethoven's Piano Trio No. 4 through Glinka's Grand Sextet to Lutoslawski's Variations on a Theme of Paganini.

This box of Schumann's chamber works makes a superb package, and is often available at bargain price. It is a bit like one of Martha Argerich's box sets from Lugano, except that here she is present in a large number of the formations. All of the works where she features, including the Piano Quintet, the 2nd Violin Sonata and the Marchenbilder, are unmissable and full of passion and excitement, conveying a continuous sense of transport. Where she is not the pianist Alexandre Rabinovitch takes over at the keyboard and also gives us some superlative versions.

Longstanding friends and collaborators Pianist Martha Argerich and Violinist Gidon Kremer share not so much the spotlight as usual here, but instead separate roles in this program featuring the rarely coupled Mendelssohn Piano and Violin Concerto's. As one would expect, both performances are highly spirited and loaded with surprises. The youthful Orpheus Chamber Orchestra delivers expert support and Deutsche Grammophon's sound is crisp, clear, and well-balanced.