Martha Argerich embraces new repertoire
NewsWe’ve had a list of updates for next month’s Argerich festival with a number of pieces she may never have played before, or not for many years. Always good to refresh the repertoire in one’s eighties.
Here are the additions:
Poulencs Concerto for 2 pianos and orchestra with Martha Argerich and Polina Leschenko
Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky play Chopin’s Cello sonata
Michael Volle sings Schumann’s Dichterliebe with Martha Argerich on piano
World Music: Martha Argerich, Martín García García, Catriona Morison, Akane Sakai, Mauricio Vallina:
Witold Lutosławski: Paganini-Variationen für zwei Klaviere
Xavier Montsalvatge: Cinco canciones negras
Isaac Albéniz: Iberia (Auszüge)
The Lutoslawski she did already in the 80s.There´s a famous Philips recording with the sadly missed Nelson Freire
She will turn 81 in a few days and wants to learn new repertoire.No doubt she will manage this challenge .
Congratulations!
Age aside, there is no shortage of reasons to deeply admire Marta Argerich. New repertoire is not one of them. As written all over this discussion, hardly any of the above is new.
Martha played the Poulenc double concerto in Tanglewood in 2012.
And in Hannover in January 2020 with Shin-Heae Kang
Polina Leschenko’s the finest Ukrainian pianist
Of course..she is UKRAINIAN.
And at the Montreux Festival with Alexandre Rabinovich
I heard her play the Poulenc with the Philadelphia at Saratoga when she regularly played there-and she has recorded the Chopin and Lutoslawski…..
And she recorded the Chopin Sonata with Mstislav Rostropovich for DGG way back in 1981. You’d be more correct if you stated that she’s revisiting repertoire from past years.
Norman, what are you writing?
Most of the pieces have been part of her repertoire for a long time.
– Poulenc: recently performed in Hannover with NDR and Manze (2020). A previous performance was recorded on the Lugano DG box
– Dichterliebe: recently performed – at the same venue – with Thomas Hampson (2018). In the past she has performed the cycle several times with Kamel Botrous. There are at least two officials recordings of it.
– Chopin Cello Sonata: recently performed at the Lausitz Festival with Maisky (2020). Several recordings available
– She performs the Lutoslawski all the time.
The extraits from Iberia would be new indeed
Been a favorite of mine ever since Hungarian Rhapsody #6 when she was 26. Youtube has it
Nonsense. She played the Poulenc Concerto, the Chopin Cello Sonata and the Lutoslawski Variations quite often, also in recent years. She performed the Schumann Dichterliebe less frequently, but her last performance was not that long ago, in 2018 in … guess where??? yes, in Hamburg at her own festival.
And I bet she is not going to play Montsalvatge or Albéniz.
Indeed, not all of the repertoire is either stuff that Argerich has never played or played a long time ago.
Martha Argerich: A class act that keeps on giving.
I was always hoping she would tackle the Brahms 2nd piano concerto. . She is unbelievable.
Admirable artista !
She has played the Chopin with Maisky many times. There’s even a live in Japan Deutsche Gramophone CD recording of it.
Still a leading artist able to -partly- renew. I heard recently her recording of Mozart ‘s 20th concerto for Emi and didn’t recognize her playing, the touch was so soft and sweet. She would always play Ravel concerto or Liszt first etc….she had to explore some rarities in the 2 piano répertoire , but my eternal regrets is that she didn’t record Chopin études and Schumann 1st sonata, works who seem almost written for her in my mind….
I wish she would play the Ravel left hand concerto.
Maybe she Will play Totentanz( S525) at the final day
Since 2020, she has playing at Laeiszhalle at least one uncommon piece to her repertoire.
2020- Chopin’s third sonata
2021- Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons
2022- maybe Liszt’s Totentanz, because there is at the catalogue.
Has she ever performed a Scriabin Sonata ?? I think that she wanted to perform Rachmaninoff Sonata 2 in 1978 in London but she cancelled her recital one month in advance…
Martha Argerich / Gabriela Montero, Lutoslawski
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWdMSp1I5WM
I’m a great fan of Martha Argerich, but no-one has mentioned that she has not performed solo repertoire in a public recital for many years now. It is her choice, of course, but rather sad for someone who’s as gifted as she is. This is not at all to diminish her role in ensemble repertoire of course, though.
She won’t play recital.She says she is very lonely on stage by herself. Remember, she’s had a camera in her face for about 75 years. She deserves to have other people with her. It does not diminish her incredible talent.
Goodness , how wonderful is she ! Giving ageism the boot . Yes, keeping her mind active learning new things , she’ll be performing for many years hence .
She is playing the 3rd Scherzo by Chopin in Hamburg next week!