Martha Argerich
Vintage recordings of Argentine virtuoso are a mix of the great, the so-so and the muffled.
Don’t get too loud too quickly,” pianist Daniel Barenboim said to a young student during a masterclass. The two Argentines (Barenboim and Martha Argerich), who are of a similar age, delivered a superb four-handed recital in Buenos Aires, which was recently recorded and released.
Barenboim’s advice hits the mark in good and not-so-good ways. It’d be hard to equal Argerich’s elegant touch in Beethoven’s Sonata Op 10, No 3; Mozart’s Sonata No 18 – both performances were recorded in 1960 – comes a close second. Her transcendental virtuosity in Prokofiev’s Toccata is extremely clear.
Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit is still the most technically demanding post-Liszt masterpiece, and how well Argerich evokes coldness and cruelty, her seductiveness climaxing in a catty harshness. Though the central climax of its opening “Ondine” needs richer breadth, the repeated notes in “Scarbo” – the last and most vicious of the three movements – are amazing. But there are more mature versions available, such as those by Pascal Rogé (my favourite) and Angela Hewitt in her complete Ravel on multiple CDs.
Argerich’s Prokofiev Sonata No 3 and Ravel Sonatine evoke Barenboim’s exhortation not to start too loud too quickly. Her asymmetric finale of Prokofiev Sonata No 7 is a mess; there are far cleaner versions on the market.
MARTHA ARGERICH, Early Recordings (Deutsche Grammophon, double CD)
Two crackers on these allChopin releases mix in with stale archiving such as CD 1 (mono recordings) of 1967 and 2010, which highlight the composer’s B minor and B-flat minor Sonatas. We can hear Argerich in two sizzling performances of the finales of these works, but they’re smudged because of their age and mono recording.
The clearer CD 2 features the 24 Préludes (plus two stand-alone Préludes) recorded in 1967 and 1975, but has just as muffled a recording acoustic. CD 4, recorded in 1978 and 1981, displays peak performances and clear recording, as does CD 5 (mono) recorded in 1967.
Deutsche Grammophon has made a genuine attempt at archiving Argerich’s many studio, live and radio recordings. Timings on these CDs are generous, at between 64 and 78 minutes, and the sleeve notes are informative.
Let’s look at the two crackers – the 26 Préludes and Piano Concerto No 1. You need 26 personalities to play the Préludes. Argerich has 16. You can’t fault her in the soft and quiet ones, but in the bravura ones, I sometimes want to repeat Barenboim’s masterclass phrase. Yet even in these pieces, her playing is crisp.
The symphonically sublime Piano Concerto No 1, with Claudio Abbado, has Argerich melding into one unified whole with this greatest Berlin Philharmonic conductor, before cancer got the better of him. In these two box sets, she offers more quality than I’d anticipated: 70% anyway.
How well Argerich evokes coldness and cruelty, her seductiveness climaxing in a catty harshness.
MARTHA ARGERICH, Complete Chopin Recordings (Deutsche Grammophon, 5-CD set)