Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 2 & 3

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This new album brings together two Beethoven Concertos : the second (actually the first written by the composer) and the famous third in C minor. Both concertos were recorded during live performances, in Ferrara (Italy), and for both, the legendary Martha Argerich was followed by her long-time friend Claudio Abbado, conducting the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

The agitation over this album comes from the fact that it is Martha Argerich's first-ever recording of Beethoven's third. It is also relevant to note that the argentinian pianist had performed this work, according to the booklet, only twice in her life, the last one dating back to the late 1970s. For a first attempt in more than 20 years and for a live performance, the result is more than satisfying.

In the first movement, Argerich gives, in my opinion, a very expressive and dramatic rendition, while Abbado is somewhat more temperate and direct. This combination of "fire and water" works pretty well, as both approches tend to mix together towards the end of the movement, just before the tutti that leads to this increadible coda : in the first section, Martha Argerich manages to play these arpeggios faster than anybody I have heard so far, while in the second theme, she is extraordinary expressive, and in the conclusion, she is just poignant. However, I found a bit sad that right after the coda, she didn't manage to play the arpeggios clearly (not difficult enaugh for her?). But overall, the first movement was for me thrilling.

The second movement was in my opinion the best version I have ever heard. What was the most amazing for me was Argerich's quality of sound from the beginning to the end, and also her ability to recreate the piece as if it was being composed while she was playing.

As for the third movement, I was a little disappointed because it wasn't fast enaugh in my opinion (which is a bit surprising when you think of Argerich's usual demonic tempos in last movements), although it was fresh and sometimes seemed almost improvised. The performance was of course a huge succes, as you might imagine.

The Second Concerto is a work Martha Argerich has always performed a lot in her long career, and one notices it immediately. Everything seems so natural and spontaneous in her playing, as she manages to play with so many different dynamics, textures and moods. It just really makes you stop and listen. Compared to her, I found Gillels boring (!), although his version is great.

To conclude, I would highly recommend this album, definitely for the Second Concerto, but also for the Third which, if not perfect, is just amazing.

Collaboration between soloist and conductor and orchestra is the key to superlative performance. One can place a headstrong soloist in front of a fine ensemble with a conductor whose vision of a work is fixed in place and no matter how fine each of the three components is individually, if they are not aligned the result is uninspired.

So with Marta Argerich whose relationship with Claudio Abbado has sustained accolades over the years joins with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra it seems a foregone conclusion that the synchrony will be there. And so it is with this CD of the Beethoven Second and Third Piano Concerti. From the opening measure to the last in each concerto there is a rightness of line, of balance, of lightness, of profundity, of technical brilliance and of spirituality that is matched by very few other recordings of these beloved works. Argerich is fluid, allowing the slow movements to evolve into an almost translucent presence, yet comes forth in the velocity courses with all the drama and fire that have marked her remarkable career.

Abbado knows the fine line between accompanying and co-creating and his precise control over the fine Mahler Chamber Orchestra adds space and breadth and excitement to these works. If this recording doesn't receive many awards then there is no justice! A splendid experience. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

Martha Argerich is undoubtedly one of the greatest pianists of our age. Claudio Abbado is clearly one of the greatest conductors of our age. What happens when the fiery Argentine Argerich plays with the cool and elegant Abbado? A combustion that shouldn't happen, but does, somehow. Argerich had never recorded the Third Concerto, and had only played it a handful of times before this live recording. In the first movement Abbado's classicist leanings are at odds with Argerich's almost willful fireworks. And yet it works. Don't ask me to explain that. But, rather like Orpheus taming the Furies in the Fourth Concerto, by the second movement, that lovely island of serenity, Argerich plays her opening solo so slowly, so elegantly, so achingly that time stands still. How she makes the piano sing! And how she manages it at that tempo is beyond understanding. But I can tell you that it is spellbinding. This is indeed a Fury turned into an Orpheus of our age. The Rondo starts at a moderately fast tempo, but seems to get faster and more exciting as it proceeds, and strangely this acceleration seems to come primarily from Abbado in the orchestra's first tutti. Indeed, at one spot later on Argerich gets marginally behind the orchestral onrush. No matter. This is a live concert with, as far as I know, no retakes, and one is caught up in the spirit of the moment. An exhilarating experience.

Our pianist has played the Haydnesque Second Concerto (actually, the first Beethoven wrote, begun way back in 1788) many times in her career. That has always struck me as a little odd, considering how fiery the pianist is and how classically restrained this concerto is. But in this performance she is totally at ease and plays in a patrician manner not usually associated with her. This reminds me of a long-ago recording by pianist Artur Balsam, a lamentably almost forgotten pianist, in its combination of composure and subtle drama. This time there is no conflict between pianist and orchestra; Abbado and Argerich are on the same wave-length throughout. Argerich's pearly runs, rock-steady tempi and particularly the time-stopping second movement cadenzas are beauteous to behold; the subtlety of Abbado's phrasing is equally remarkable. The young Mahler Chamber Orchestra, a group that Abbado has a special relationship with (as he has with other European orchestras with young players), play with grace, precision and élan.

This is a superb coupling, worthy of inclusion in any Beethoven collection. One hopes that Argerich/Abbado/MahlerCO will complete the set of the five concerti some time soon. And in live performances, to capture the excitement of the moment.

Enthusiastically recommended.

TT=64:00

Scott Morrison

There is no shortage of excellent versions of either of these Beethoven concertos but once again Martha Argerich does something unique and spectacular. It is axiomatic that in any work of Beethoven in which there is a piano, the piano is Beethoven himself. That concept is probably overlooked frequently, and many pianists probably do not think of themselves as "being Beethoven" as they play (modesty alone would preclude so doing until one thinks about it), but this concept is at the heart of the success achieved here by Argerich and her outstanding collaborator Claudio Abbado. Maestro Abbado plays it very straight; the Mahler Chamber Orchestra provides a clean and clear but rather straight-laced framework. Within that framework Argerich works her individualistic magic with extreme power, lyricism, and precision. Indeed, when Beethoven himself played, the orchestra had written parts and played what was written as well as it could, while Beethoven played mostly from his head with sometimes just rudimentary sketches (pity the page-turners!). His playing was unlike anything heard before--elemental in its power, shocking in its technical virtuosity and contrasts. There was no issue of the player and the conductor being completely parallel in their expressivity. The orchestra was the foil against which Beethoven reflected his ideas. Beyond a basic degree, there is no requirement for "one-to-one mapping" or pari passu matching between piano and orchestra. (This is obvious in the writing of the Third, for example, where the orchestra opens pianissimo and triadically and the piano finally enters in fortissimo octave scales, setting the pattern of difference to be resolved.) Abbado and Argerich do not, by any means, each go their own way, however. They are closely connected throughout, and both in the details (inner orchestral voices, timbres at phrase ends) and at the climaxes work well together. Both performances are recorded live (years 2000 and 2004). The technical articulation of Argerich's playing is astonishing and the lyricism of the slow movements is breath-taking. Rarely has the off-beat and frolicsome nature of the rondo of the Second been conveyed so clearly, and the sense of relief so complete when the theme finally arrives with the expected rhythm. In Argerich's hands as in no one else's I can hear how the quirky appogiaturas that pervade that last movement of the Second evolved into the light-hearted French style of Saint-Saens and Litolff later in the Nineteenth Century. Congratulations, Martha! This recording is a resounding success and a welcome addition to my library.

I have long enjoyed the mastery and heart of the Schnabel and Fleisher editions of these works. But Martha Argerich's performances of these two concertos are, on first and second hearings, the best--the most nuanced and fully realized--of any I have heard. Unqualified recommendation. (Sound is very good though not spectacular).

Martha Argerich and Claudio Abbado both learnt piano playing from Friedrich Gulda. This is their most recent collaboration after a long lapse of 20 odd years, and it is not surprising to find that the two have moved to their respective interpretive tastes since their early collaborations in the No. 1 Concerti of Chopin and Liszt.
The particularly disappointing collaboration is the No. 3 Concerto. Instead of fire and ice melting at each other, the effect is rather more one of water and oil. For truly great renditions of this work, go for Kempff/van Kampen, or Richter/Sanderling, both on DGG, and to a lessor extent, Pollini/Boehm, also on DGG. If there has been criticisms of the latter in the recent years, I fail to find any reason why this present recording of the No. 3 should receive such flying color reviews. Of course, I do not consider the release of the No. 3 Concerto by Abbado/Pollini to be any better than Pollini's previous recording with Karl Boehm. For great performances of this same piece outside of DG, there are plenty to choose. Try Friedrich Gulda's with Stein and the VPO for a total musical experience.
For one thing, Abbado to my mind is scarcely the best interpretor of Beethoven. Argerich has made much better recordings of the No. 2 with another conductor before (under EMI). She is very familiar with this work, and is able to hold her own to a larger extent here than in the less familiar No. 3 Concerto, to the blessing of the listeners' ears.
Two big names, but yielding less than perfect results.