Martha Argerich and Friends: Live from the Lugano Festival 2012
rec. live 6-25 June 2012, Lugano, Switzerland
Originally issued on EMI
WARNER CLASSICS 7211192 [3 CDs: 226]
The 11th installation of Progetto Argerich may contain fewer surprises than some previous boxed sets from the Lugano Festival, and the works in total seem to be more mainstream and less dazzling than usual. On the other hand, there is a bit more of Martha Argerich in it, the enthusiasm is electrifying, and the performances, if possible, became even better.
Mozart’s Sonata K381 for piano four hands does not contain the same magic riches as K448; still, it is pure Mozart. The performance by two queens – Maria Joăo Pires and Martha Argerich – is effervescent, and the serene slow movement is ethereal without being too soft; it resembles the great Sull’ aria duet from Figaro.
Argerich and Gautier Capuçon give a very fine account of Schumann’s Fünf Stücke im Volkston – energetic and raw, in real folk style. The first movement has a rustic, stomping drive; the slow second one is full of Schumann’s typical Träumerei; the third is mysterious and wistful, almost Dvořák-style; No 4 has the proud Polish air; the last piece is turbulent and emotional. The cello sound is strong and confident, and so is the piano; together they are like two partners in a dance: showing off, yet maintaining a balance of power.
The words Mahler’s Piano Quartet may sound like an oxymoron, a musical joke, like a Bruckner Mazurka, or a Wagner Sonatina. Yet it is real, written by young Mahler during his student years at the Vienna Conservatory. It is in a single movement, and one would hardly guess the composer on a blind listening. My guess would be a Czech or Russian composer of this period; they loved weighty, overheated sentiment, yet lightened the heavy Germanic pace with a lyrical flow. The music is sad and full of Romantic yearning, not too far from Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio. Despite the composer’s immaturity, this is a very attractive work. It shows that had Mahler not yet set out on his own path, he could yet become a fine conventional composer. The performance is expressive and involving, with a good tempo and dynamic decisiveness. The quiet parts are veiled and distant, the loud ones are urgent and intense.
On each Lugano set, Martha Argerich usually stars in one large concerto or a concertante piece, and this time it is
Mozart’s great C Major Concerto No 25. This music is cut out of radiant amber, through which the warm sun shines. The performance is enthusiastic, without eccentricities but with a lyrical persuasiveness. The second movement is pastoral, bathing in warm horns and airy flutes. Argerich’s reading is light and spacious, and silver bells are jingling in the shimmering clouds. The melody is simple. The finale combines Haydn’s humor with Mozart’s own soft charm, with a few fleeting shadows. This concerto may not have the dramatic appeal of its two direct predecessors, but some of its moments are extraordinarily beautiful. Argerich’s playing sparkles; every note is a little pearl on a string, solid and shiny; she leads the narrative admirably, as if talking to us. The orchestra provides excellent support, with spirited strings and subtle woodwinds. This concerto is less popular than it deserves to be, and this performance advocates its virtues.
Accompanied by the late Nicholas Angelich, Argerich plays Brahms’ St. Anthony Variations. The performance leans more towards the humane than the grand side of this music. There is no hurry, but a feeling of confidence and good accord between the pianists. The different moods and faces of the variations are distinct. The spirit of this performance is very Brahmsian: rough and masculine on one hand, shy and tender on the other; intense and relaxed at the same time. I still prefer the version that Argerich recorded with Nelson Freire during their Salzburg recital, for the ineffable magic and sheer electricity.
Dvořák’s Piano Quartet is packed with youthful ardor. The first movement is ecstatic and full of happy turbulence. As usual with this composer, there is a strong dancing element. The slow movement resembles its sister from the Cello Concerto. Here, too, the cello has the leading voice, and the sudden dramatic bursts of cold wind interrupt the flow of the warm serenity - another Dvořák specialty. The Scherzo is light, dancing and singing, with a more intense and active Trio. The mercurial finale is an amalgam of major and minor keys; everything gets into motion with an untameable, inextinguishable danciness. The performance is captivating, with a drive to die for; the music comes out alive and kicking; the playing is full of excitement, but leaves room for elegance and balance. Overall, this reading can be recommended as one of the best.
The theme of Martucci’s Variations resembles Tchaikovsky, but the variations themselves are in the Brahmsian tradition. They start simply and gradually become more adventurous. Some moments are modest – even banal – yet they are moving and work right. Some pages are sophisticated, but without becoming too cerebral. The performers engage the listener’s attention; the music glitters in their hands. This is a worthy presentation of this attractive piece. It is not very original in its concept or details, but it is beautiful and ear-catching. The finale is fiery and sparkling.
The two works by Smetana for eight hands on two pianos must be a delight to watch but I am afraid that on a CD the effect is reduced. There isn’t so much distinct musical content to fill the extra hands, but the sonority is unusual; just as the sound of a string orchestra differs from a string quartet, so eight hands differ from two; the sound is rounder and more percussive at the same time. The Sonata is in one movement and does not outstay is welcome; it is expectably loud (how gentle can you be with eight hands?) and, considering the medium, the texture is surprisingly sparse. The music reminds me of Schubert’s Lebensstürme and some piano works of Franck. Whereas the Sonata grows from the German Romantic tradition, the ensuing Rondo is indisputably Czech. It rolls happily, with the flamboyance of a rustic dance. It reminds me of one of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances.
Prokofiev’s Second Violin Sonata, played by Argerich and Renaud Capuçon, is full of bittersweet charm, which belies its origin as a Flute Sonata. This hereditary “flutiness” also brings some discernible French air into the music. The first movement, in pure Prokofiev tradition, combines mellow lyrical musings with pranks and laughter. This is Prokofiev the author of sweet Adagios of his ballets. It is hard to imagine that the Scherzo was written for something else than the violin. These sharp, tiny demonic claws, this devil-may-care arrogance, both suit the violin so naturally – it’s practically a Mephisto-Waltz. The slow movement is amiably caressing, with the composer’s signature large steps up and down in the melody. The intensity grows, and there are shadows of Cinderella. The propulsive finale stomps and dances, happy without becoming square. The music has some of Shostakovich’s bluntness, but without the younger composer’s tongue-in-cheek attitude. The performance is full voiced, with great drive and contagious excitement.
Debussy’s La mer is heard here in a rare transcription for three pianos. The result is more granular than I would like. I understand and accept the wave-corpuscular dualism of light, but in this work, I personally prefer to hear waves rather than corpuscles. This quibble is more about the very idea of arranging La mer for pianos, and in no way is about the performance, which is subtle and sensitive. The ominous undercurrents lurk beneath, and the foamy wave-tops dance in the wind. The pianists know how to suspend this thinnest sound fabric in the air. This is a feast of coordination, and must have been a view to behold. Oh, people of Lugano! How lucky you are! At some moments I smell salt in the air, and hear the seagulls cry. The result is as alive, irregular and unpredictable as Debussy’s orchestral score is, and radiates delight.
It must be hard to love Medtner in the way one loves Rachmaninov or Scriabin. One might admire his harmonic finesses and structural originalities, but this cautious understatement, modesty and restraint are not a recipe for making popular composers. While some chamber works for piano with strings (like Dvořák’s) are more piano-centered, this Piano Quintet is string-oriented. The music is quite conservative; many late Romantic composers could have written something similar. There is a lot of stuff going on – after all, the composer was working on this Quintet for over almost fifty years! I know there are people who can listen to any amounts of Medtner, but I was glad this work has only three movements, as it is a very nutritious meal. Structurally complex, harmonically inventive, masterfully written, this is music for an educated listener who would follow the development of the motifs. Those less sophisticated (like me) may have hard time without the focal points around which the attention crystallizes; it is interesting listening but not as memorable as Tchaikovsky’s or Rachmaninov’s more “populist” creations. The textures are dense and elaborated, yet not heavy. The first movement starts as a song and becomes more agitated, with the Russian elements that we know well from Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. The mood is sad but not tragic, with less pathos than is usually painted by the grand Romantics, and thus more natural. The slow movement is a gentle plaintive song, also with prominent Slavic features. The last movement is long and elaborate. The mood seems to overcome the troubles and the misery of the first two movements; it is positive and confident, even jubilant. The performance is sensitive and balanced; it packs enough emotions to make the listening interesting and enjoyable. I doubt that any performance can make this Quintet my favorite work, but this one definitely makes it admirable.
As a short encore and a tribute to Argerich’s native Argentina, she performs with Ali Petrasso his transcription of Taquito Militar by Mariano Mores. It is a fast tango with twitches and quirks, and I wish it went twice as long. The performance is exuberant.
Overall, this is an excellent set, in the best tradition of Lugano Festival boxes. Just as with any of the previous ones, it can serve as an entry point into this great series of yearly events - and once you are hooked, there is no way out! The acoustic quality is exemplary, and creates the feeling of personal presence. The booklet is in English, German and French; it provides some details about the works and the performers.
Oleg Ledeniov
Contents
CD 1
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Sonata in D, K381 for piano four hands (c.1773-74) [15:12]
Maria Joăo Pires, Martha Argerich (piano four hands)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Fünf Stücke im Volkston, Op 102 (1849) [17:03]
Gautier Capuçon (cello), Martha Argerich (piano)
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Piano Quartet in A minor (c.1876) [12:33]
Lily Maisky (piano), Sascha Maisky (violin), Lyda Chen (viola), Mischa Maisky (cello)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No 25 in C, K503 (1786) [31:15]
Martha Argerich (piano), Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana/Jacek Kaspszyk
CD2
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Variations on a Theme by Haydn (St. Anthony Variations), Op 56b for two pianos (1873) [17:24]
Martha Argerich, Nicholas Angelich (pianos)
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Piano Quartet in E-flat, Op 87 (1889) [33:16]
Polina Leschenko (piano), Ilya Gringolts (violin), Nathan Braude (viola), Torleif Thedéen (cello)
Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909)
Tema con variazioni in E-flat, Op 58 for two pianos (1882, rev.1900) [12:56]
Nelson Goerner, Rusudan Alavidze (pianos)
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884)
Sonata in E minor for two pianos, eight hands JB1:47/B.70/T.47 (1849) [10:38]
Rondo in C for two pianos, eight hands Rondo for the Young JB1:50/B.73/T.57 (1850) [10:38]
Martha Argerich, Lilya Zilberstein, Anton Gerzenberg, Daniel Gerzenberg (pianos)
CD3
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Violin Sonata No 2 in D, Op.94bis (1943) [22:09]
Renaud Capuçon (violin), Martha Argerich (piano)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
La Mer (transcr. for 3 pianos by C.M. Griguoli) (1903-05) [20:54]
Giorgia Tomassi, Carlo Maria Griguoli, Alessandro Stella (pianos)
Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951)
Piano Quintet in C, Op. posth. (1949) [25:22]
Lilya Zilberstein (piano), Dora Schwarzberg, Lucia Hall (violins), Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg (viola), Jing Zhao (cello)
Mariano Mores (b.1922)
Taquito militar (transcr. for 2 pianos by A. Petrasso) (1952) [2:11]
Martha Argerich, Ale Petrasso (pianos)
