Customer Reviews

Martha Argerich Plays Chopin: The Legendary 1965 Recording

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If I had to pick a single CD to win awed admiration for Martha Argerich, this Chopin recital would be it. Only 24 when she made these long-suppressed recordings, Argerich's musicality and dazzling technqiue defy belief. Every ounce of praise for her Third Sonata is deserved--it's spontaneous, flexible, intense, by turns tender and declamatory. The most blessed quality is that she doesn't bang or harangue us--not always the case in later years. Her sense of urgency doesn't become eckless; the bursts of excitment aren't oerly explosive.

My only caveat would be for audiophiles. Although an Abbey Road studio recording, you get the feeling somewhat that Argerich is performing in a boomy hall. Also, in the loudest fortes there's mircophone shatter. For many listeners these drawbacks won't matter a whit, not in the face of an undisputed keyboard genius.

Every word praise of Argerich's playing on this website is certainly heartfelt and true. Of the pianist's genius there is no disputing. But whether she is doing justice to Chopin is perhaps another matter.

I am reminded of some tenors in opera who approach every bar of music with whitehot intensity, even where the situation (and the composer's markings) call for gentleness. In a more recent recording, Argerich keeps the conductor hard pressed to follow her tempi, making the work her show entirely and not a concerto in the strict sense of the word.

So here on this EMI recording we have the music brilliantly played--and this is one CD I plan to keep in my collection--but (and I ask this hestitatingly and humbly) is this Chopin being played by Argerich or Argerich playing Chopin? Thomas May's comments above go quite some way in answering this question; but we are not dealing with concrete, only abstract, nouns here.

Another analogy might be all those Ella Fitzgerald sets of Gershwin, Kern, et alia. Certainly here we have these composers deconstructed and recreated to fit the singer's brand of performance. Well, Gershwin survives, Kern does not, Berlin does, and so on. So again I have to wonder if these highly idiosyncratic playings are true to the composer (whatever that might mean).

On the other hand, great music exists objectively only as notes on lines on paper. Perhaps Chopin never had this kind of playing mind but certainly would accept it. That must remain forever a moot point. Still 5 stars to CD.

I have never been quite happy with pianists; it seems I should love much of the piano repertoire from Bach through Ravel and Rachmaninov. I have some things from Horowitz, Rubinstein, Ax, and Van Cliburn, but they don't give me feeling the excitement the music seems to promise. Last year I got this Argerich recording (thanks to Amazon's audio abilities). Now this is a great pianist...what a sound, what passion, how lyric, dynamic...and there is movement, tension that drives the music-something similar to Toscanini. Emotionally the playing is smoldering; at times blazing, and at other times so delicate and meaningful you could cry. And it all seems so natural, so right. I have gone on to buy many of her other recordings-and they all bring me tremendous satisfaction. In fact Argerich has inspired me to go and listen to other pianists with a renewed interest to hear their interpretations. But for me she plays on a level above the rest.

Having been touted (branded) as legendary, this recording has drawn many classical listeners' attention. I admit that her technical superiority is intensively shown in this recording. It's clear that she plays the music with passion. But is this particular recording good enough to be glorified to this extent? Not really. I do appreciate this particular CD because it accounts for the musicality of early Martha Argerich. But I think that, in this CD, Argerich plays without much consideration. I am a fan of Argerich, and I appreciate her thundering power most of the time. But I think playing chopin needs a sense of manipulation, which allows a performer to empathize with the music and the composer. It seems that, if taking out the melody, what left, the only thing left, is her strength. I believe that her recordings under the label of DG are much better. For example, in her 1961 debute recording, the "Scherzo No.3 In C-sharp Minor, Op.39" is played with much more consideration because what she puts in the music is not only strength but also her understanding of the music. Also, I think that EMI's recording technic is not good. I can't believe my ears that the 1961 recording with DG has a much higher audio quality than this 1965 recording.

Martha Argerich recorded this Chopin recital soon after her triumph in the 1965 Warsaw Chopin competition. This exciting disc, though done in the studio, has the feel of a live performance, partly due to the somewhat opaque sound and partly due to an occasional spot of slightly untidy execution that only adds to the excitement of these white-hot performances. Argerich's blazing technique welds together the first movement of the B minor Sonata, which can sound loose and sprawling in other hands. The fearlessness and elan that won her an international career is much in evidence in the fast movements of the Sonata, the C-sharp minor Scherzo, and the A-flat Polonaise that concludes this recording, while the Largo, the Mazurkas and the Nocturne display her consummate musicianship and ability to sustain a musical line. Suppressed for decades, this CD is most welcome, better late than never, as a portrait of a great pianist in her early glory.

As an onwer of far too many CD's, this ranks number 2 on my list. The piano in this is absolutely amazing. This is a CD you will want on when you are sleeping, eating and any other time your ears can listen. It is simply transporting. The only CD I've heard better than this is John McArthur's, Hidden album. This Chopin is a must for any fan of his work!

I am not a Chopin fanatic, but that hardly matters when discussing these recordings. Argerich's reading of these pieces is spontaneous, assertive, and beautiful. This is a disc for fans of all music. I found her readings pleasing the jazz fan in me as well. But don't think that these are not tight, precise readings. She walks the invisible line that so many musicians try to walk, and does it as well as I've ever heard. The word interpretation does not do justice to what Argerich does on these performances. Take it from a former non-Chopin fan.

This is a great recording. Argerich plays Chopin in a strong, fresh and powerful way. Only comment I have is that I feel that sometimes her tempi are (a bit) too fast, especially in the nocturne. The recording sound is not that great, but acceptable.
For me the highlights on this disc are without doubt the mazurkas. I feel this is THE way the mazurkas should be played, free, like an improvisation, but with a very specific, Polish rhythm. The mazurkas alone are absolutely reason enough to buy this disc right away. And what a beautiful pieces these mazurkas are! I feel that these pieces stand for the essence of Chopin's art: classical in form, revolutionary harmonics, an improvisational character and beautiful belcanto melodies.
In short: don't hesitate, buy this disc right away!

This recording captures the very young yet already technically astounding Martha Argerich playing her signature composer. You will not find a better Chopin interpreter alive - only Maurizio Pollini comes close - and in this CD she is at her energetic best. The Deutsche Grammophon "Debut Recording" looks pale by comparison. Both the sound and the performance here are better. Great rendition of the Sonata.

I simply can't get over Chopin's 3rd Piano Sonata. This is the strongest piece on this old, hissy and somewhat muddy and garbled artifact, and they are right to lead off with it. I have no other recordings of the 3rd to compare with, but Argerich sells the piece very well, I think her aggressive approach is correct.

The 3rd movement just slays me. I want to orchestrate it and just bask in endless variations upon the central arabesque with a full symphony surrounding me on a sunny day. The piece is like an entire day, or an entire life, it is an 8 minute haiku that captures the entire universe and all that is worth living to appreciate.

This sonata I'm already convinced explains not only Debussy's style (he must have played this constantly growing up) but much of what we consider beauty in modern music. I'm not exaggerating! Why is this piece not featured more prominently in the repertory? I guess it is, but in appropriated bits peeled off it and recycled into lesser works.

Chopin's genius and immortality is confirmed. And I will look for additional interpretations of this singular achievement in the hope I might improve upon a first love.