Martha Argerich

Martha Argerich in 1962

Martha Argerich (born June 5, 1941) is an Argentinean concert pianist. Her aversion to the press and publicity has resulted in her remaining out of the limelight for most of her career. She has given relatively few interviews. As a result, she may not be as well known as other pianists of similar calibre. Nevertheless, she is widely recognized as one of the greatest modern-day pianists.

Early life

Argerich was born in Buenos Aires and started playing the piano at age three (the ancestry of the Argerich name is uncertain: some say it is Catalonian, while others sustain it originates from Croatia). At age five, she moved to teacher Vincenzo Scaramuzza who stressed to her the importance of lyricism and feeling. She gave her debut concert at the age of eight (1949), playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15. In 1950, she played Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 and Bach's French Suite in G major, BWV 816.

The family moved to Europe in 1955 where Argerich studied with Friedrich Gulda in Austria. She later studied with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and Stefan Askenase. In 1957, at sixteen, she won both the Geneva International Music Competition and the Ferruccio Busoni International Competition within three weeks of each other. It was at the latter that she met Michelangeli, whom she would later seek out for lessons at twenty during a personal artistic crisis.

Argerich won the seventh International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1965. One of her performances in that winning campaign was a defiantly confident reading of Chopin's Etude in C major (Op. 10, No. 1). The following year she gave her American debut in the Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series.

Professional career

In the same year, she made her first recording, including works by Chopin, Brahms, Ravel, Prokofiev, and Liszt. A few years later she recorded Chopin's Sonata No. 3, Polonaise, Op. 53, and other short works. Her technique is considered amongst the most formidable of her time, inviting comparison with Vladimir Horowitz. Indeed, her early recordings (made at age 19) of such competition mainstays as Prokofiev's Toccata and Liszt's Sixth Hungarian Rhapsody remain yardsticks for these works. Although some critics say she has exaggerated dynamics and tempi, her playing is characterised by her passionate and unique sound.

Argerich has often remarked in interviews of feeling "lonely" on stage during solo performances. After the 1980s she played few solo concerts, instead focusing on concertos and, in particular, chamber music, and accompanying instrumentalists in sonatas. She is noted especially for her recordings of 20th century works by composers such as Rachmaninoff, Messiaen and Prokofiev. One notable record pairs Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1.

Argerich has married three times. Her first marriage was to Robert Chen, with whom she had her daughter Lyda Chen. From 1969 to 1973, Argerich was married to conductor Charles Dutoit, with whom she continues to record and perform. Annie Dutoit is their child. Her third husband was pianist Stephen Kovacevich, with whom she also had a child, Stephanie Argerich.

One of Argerich's closest friends is the Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, with whom she frequently appears in duo-piano recitals.

Argerich has been tireless in promoting younger pianists, through her annual festival, and frequently appears as a member of the jury at important competitions. The Croatian pianist Ivo Pogorelić was thrust into the musical spotlight when, after being eliminated in the third round of the 1980 International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Argerich proclaimed him a genius and left the jury in protest.

Argerich is also president of the International Piano Academy Lake Como.

Awards and recognitions

• Praemium Imperiale 2005 Japan.
• Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra):
  • Claudio Abbado (conductor), Martha Argerich and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra for Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3 (2006)
• Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:
  • Martha Argerich and Mikhail Pletnev for Prokofiev (Arr. Pletnev): Cinderella Suite for Two Pianos/Ravel: Ma Mere L'Oye (2005)
• Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)
  • Charles Dutoit (conductor), Martha Argerich and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3/Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3 (2000)
• International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition: 1st prize (1965)

Bibliography

• Sadie, Stanley (Ed.) (1981). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-23111-2

External links

• The Martha Argerich Project
• Argerich Music news, concert schedule, articles, recordings
• Argerich's repertoire through the years
• Martha Argerich biography, CD and concert review by cosmopolis.ch
• Georges Gachot directed a documentary film about Martha Argerich named Martha Argerich, conversation nocturne (2002) (imdb link)
• Ates Orga River Plate Queen (1978, 2006)