Martha Argerich – Live form the Concertgebouw 1978 & 1979 (2011) SACD ISO

Martha Argerich – Live form the Concertgebouw 1978 & 1979 (2011)
Classical | SACD ISO: DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 00:52:00 | 2,9 GB
Label: Warner Music (Japan) | Release Year: 2011

If you wonder why everyone’s so crazy about Martha Argerich, this disc should explain it. Recorded live in recital at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in May 1978 and April 1979 — but released here for the first time — these performances reveal a pianist with a daredevil spirit and technique to burn. Surely Chopin’s C-sharp Minor Scherzo has never been fired off with such dizzying speed and indomitable power. Even the quieter sections — usually oases of nostalgic solace — have dramatic urgency, and her final dash to the finish line is an adrenaline rush that will leave you breathless. Argerich’s Bartók Sonata is a riot of pounding rhythms and bristling energy that makes the “Rite of Spring” seem well-behaved. But she’s no jackhammer, either. Prokofiev’s Seventh Sonata is just as impressive for its moments of lyrical intimacy as for its savage excitement. And Bach’s C Minor Partita is elegantly austere and poised in her oh-so-capable hands. Alberto Ginastera’s “Danzas Argentinas” — one of the pianist’s rare forays into music from her birthplace — are vibrantly colored, with a magically delicate rendering of the melancholy “Danza de la moza donoza.” An incendiary performance of one of Scarlatti’s most dazzling sonatas and a spry, shapely rendition of the Bourée from Bach’s A Minor English Suite make exquisite and exhilarating encores. Piano playing just doesn’t get any better than this.

Gathered from solo recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 1978 and 1979, the performances on this disc remind us yet again that Martha Argerich is one of the most fiery, imaginative, and individual performers of our time. Her red-blooded version of Bach’s C minor Partita will uncurl the wigs of most baroque purists but delight everyone else. Her performance of the Bartók Sonata is one of the most precise and propulsive on records, combining the idiomatic authority of György Sándor with the youthful fire of Zoltán Kocsis, while her interpretation of Prokofiev’s wartime Seventh Sonata is one of the few to be mentioned in the same breath with Sviatoslav Richter’s. Best of all, though, may be the vivid and colorful Danzas argentinas by the pianist’s countryman Alberto Ginastera. Throughout the recital, Argerich’s power, concentration, and sheer energy are truly exhausting (in the best possible sense), proving again that while many of her studio recordings remain invaluable documents, there’s nothing like Argerich in the flesh. ~~ Barnes & Noble – Jim Svejda

Tracklist:

1. Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: I. Sinfonia – Grave Adagio
2. Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: Andante
3. Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: II. Allemande
4. Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: III. Courante
5. Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: IV. Sarabonde
6. Partita No. 2 In C Minor, BWV 826: V. Rondeau
7. Nocturne No. 13 In C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1
8. Scherzo No. 3 In C Sharp Minor, Op. 39
9. Sonata, Sz. 80: I. Allegro moderato
10. Sonata, Sz. 80: II. Sostenuto e pesante
11. Sonata, Sz. 80: III. Allegro molto
12. Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2: I. Danza del viejo boyero (Dance Of The Old Cowherd)
13. Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2: II. Danza de la moza donoso (Dance Of The Delightful Young Girl)
14. Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2: III. Danza del gaucho matrero (Dance Of The Artful Herdsman)
15. Piano Sonata No. 7 In B Flat, Op. 83: I. Allegro inquieto – Andantino
16. Piano Sonata No. 7 In B Flat, Op. 83: II. Andante caloroso
17. Piano Sonata No. 7 In B Flat, Op. 83: III. Precipitato
18. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata In D Minor
19. Bourree – English Suite No. 2 In A Minor, BWV 807