Chopin Argerich

In our era, when large record companies parade good-looking mediocrities before us as major artists, it is good to be reminded of the real thing. Martha Argerich, as this CD demonstrates, had everything: the looks, the temperament, and the technique. By her mid 20s, she already was a phenomenal artist.

This release of broadcasts from 1959 and 1967 promises to add six new works to the Argerich discography. The truth is that nearly all the pieces here - with only one significant exception - have long been available (in other performances) on Argerich "pirates." The performances on this disc will tell Argerich's fans little, if anything, they don't already know about her: That few pianists have ever played such treacherous works as the C-sharp minor Etude, op. 10 no. 4, with such virtuosity, musicality and panache; that Argerich - despite favoring extremely fast tempos - plays the Mazurkas, Chopin's most personal and subtle works, with a vibrancy that makes her one of the great masters of this genre.

Martha Argerich - Les Premiers enregistrements: Schumann, Liszt, Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven (2021) {Diapason DIAP135}
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© 2021 Diapason | DIAP135 | Les Indispensables de Diapason Series
Classical / Romantic / Piano

In the early 1960s, Martha Argerich was only twenty years old, but an already busy career. So full that the miracle from Argentina feels the need to take a break and recharge (rebuild) after such a whirlwind. "The young Argerich" that we invite you to find here is the one before this first silence, before her resounding victory at the Concours Chopin 1965.
Fortunately, the microphones accompanied him for a long time already. Our journey begins in 1955: shortly before flying to Vienna to follow the teaching of Friedrich Gulda, a thirteen-year-old Argerich descends the arpeggios of Etude op. 10 No.1 by Chopin with crazy insolence and aplomb. A few years later, it is with this same introduction that she will scotch the Warsaw jury.

Martha Argerich has been described as “unquestionably one of the greatest pianists of all time”. She recorded a Chopin recital for EMI (now Warner Classics) in 1965, shortly after her victory in the prestigious Chopin Competition, but it only became available in 1999, when it appeared on CD. For Argerich's 75th birthday on 5 June, it finally sees its first release on LP, the format originally intended.

The duo of cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Martha Argerich is known for the virtuoso flair they bring to their performances. This album was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance. The ensemble succeeds at matching each other in every way, lending a unified and organic feeling that make it hard to believe at times that this is a *live* recording. The acoustic quality is also outstanding, although you may wish it were not so good when Maisky's loud breathing and foot-tapping get out of hand (particularly in the Debussy).