Martha Argerich & Friends Live from the Lugano Festival, 2007

superb chambermusic

Argerich is always first class and her group is fine. The musical selections are well distributed. July 13, 2008

More great chamber music from Lugano, even with an overload of piano duos

Before commenting on the contents of the latest installment of chamber music from the Lugano Festival in Switzerland, here's the detailed playlist:

Bartók:
Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz 75
Renaud Capuçon (violin) & Martha Argerich (piano)

Beethoven:
Piano Trio No. 5 in D major, Op. 70 No. 1 'The Ghost'
Martha Argerich (piano), Renaud Capuçon (violino) & Mischa Maisky (violoncello)

Piano Quartet in D major, WoO 36, No. 2 for violin, viola, violoncello and piano
Karin Lechner (piano), Alissa Margulis (violin), Lida Chen (viola) & Mark Dobrinsk (cello)

Busoni:
Fantasie für eine Orgelwalze (Mozart/Busoni)
Martha Argerich (piano) & Lilya Zilberstein (piano)

Dohnányi:
PIANO QUINTET No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 (1895)
Nicholas Angelich (piano), Dora Schwarzberg (violin), Lucy Hall (violin), Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg (viola) & Jorge Bosso (cello)

Glinka:
Grand Sextet in E flat major for piano, string quartet & double bass
Alexander Mogilevsky (piano), Lucy Hall (violin), Alissa Margulis (violin), Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg (viola), Mark Drobinsky (cello) & Enrico Fagone (doublebass)

Lutoslawski:
Variations on a Theme of Paganini for 2 Pianos
Martha Argerich (piano) & Mauricio Vallina (piano)

Messiaen:
Theme and Variations for Violin and Piano
Alissa Margulis (violin) & Francesdco Piemontese (piano)

Ravel:
Ma Mère l'Oye
Martha Argerich (piano) & Alexander Mogilevsky (piano)

Daphnis et Chloé (for 2 pianos)
(transcribed for two pianos by Lucien Garban)
Sergio Tiempo (piano) & Karin Lechner (piano)

Schumann:
Andante and Variation for two pianos Op. 46
Martha Argerich (piano) & Gabriela Montero (piano)

Kinderszenen, Op. 15
Martha Argerich (piano)

The most exciting news for Argerich fans is that in 2007 she participated in an unusually high proportion of recorded performances -- seven works in all -- including a rare solo appearance (the Kinderszenen) and, of course, the obligatory two-piano transcriptions that she loves. This year there's no fewer than five, four with Argerich, the highlights for me being Lutoslawski's delightful Paganini Var. and a magnificent Busoni arrangement of a great Mozart fantasua with a festival regular, Lilya Zilberstein. I'm a non-fan of piano duos, frankly, but no one outdoes Argerich in this genre. The fifth two-piano arrangement brings us three numbers from Daphnis and Chloe Suite #2, featuring an Argerich prize protoge, Sergio Tiempo. He and his partner, Karen Lechner, make a dazzling whirlwind of the final Danse generale.

There's too much here for me to review in detail, but I found the "Ghost" trio of Beethoven riveting in the hands of Argerich and friends -- as expected, their reading is impulsive, spontaneous, and original, one of the best I've ever heardd. Argerich's Kinderszenen is masterful, also, touchingly tender and unfussy. The Glinka and Dohnanyi works are welcome rarities, but having never heard a note of either, I can only say that these live performances sound enthusiastic and engaging without convincing me that I had missed two hidden masterpieces.

In all, despite the overload of piano duos, everything here is as delightful as in the previous installments. A must-have for chamber music lovers at EMI's special price.

April 10, 2008

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