Composer: Johannes Brahms, Claude Achille Debussy, Antonín Dvořák, Gustav Mahler, Giuseppe Martucci, Nikolai Medtner, Mariano Mores, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sergei Prokofiev, Robert Schumann, Bedrich Smetana
Performer: Maria João Pires, Martha Argerich, Gautier Capuçon, Lily Maisky, Sascha Maisky, Lyda Chen, Mischa Maisky, Nicholas Angelich, Polina Leschenko, Ilya Gringolts, Nathan Braude, Torleif Thedéen, Nelson Goerner, Rusudan Alavidze, Lilya Zilberstein, Anton Gerzenberg, Daniel Gerzenberg, Renaud Capuçon, Giorgia Tomassi, Carlo Maria Griguoli, Alessandro Stella, Ale Petrasso, Dora Schwarzberg, Lucia Hall, Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg, Jing Zhao
Orchestra: Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
Conductor: Jacek Kaspszyk
Number of Discs: 3
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Warner
Catalogue: 7211192
Release: 2013
Size: 928 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Mozart: Sonata for Piano Four Hands in D Major, K. 381
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Andante
03. III. Allegro molto
Schumann: Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102
04. I. Mit humor: “Vanitas vanitatum”
05. II. Langsam
06. III. Nicht schnell, mit viel Ton zu spielen
07. IV. Nicht zu rasch
08. V. Stark and markirt
09. Mahler: Piano Quartet (in one movement) in A minor
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K503
10. I. Allegro maestoso
11. II. Andante
12. III. Allegretto
CD 02
01. Brahms: Variations on a theme by Haydn for orchestra, Op. 56a ‘St Anthony Variations’
Dvořák: Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat, Op. 87
02. I. Allegro con fuoco
03. II. Lento
04. III. Allegro moderato, grazioso
05. IV. Finale. Allegro, ma non troppo
06. Martucci: Theme with Variations for 2 pianos in E flat Major Op.58
07. Smetana: Sonata in E minor for Two Pianos, Eight Hands
08. Smetana: Rondo for 2 pianos, 8 hands in C major
CD 03
Prokofiev: Sonata No.2 in D Major Op. 94bis
01. I. Moderato
02. II. Presto – Poco piu mosso del – Tempo I
03. III. Andante
04. IV. Allegro con brio – Poco meno mosso – Tempo I
Debussy: La mer, L. 109 Arr Griguoli
05. I. De l’aube à midi sur la mer
06. II. Jeux de vagues
07. III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer
Medtner: Piano Quintet in C major Op. post
08. I. Molto placido
09. II. Andantino con moto
10. III. Finale.: Allegro vivace
11. Mores: Military Tap
EMI Classics is pleased to release the 10th annual 3CD set of highlights from the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, “the delightful festival where youth meets experience and both benefit” (Gramophone). The Times described Argerich’s Lugano Festival as “community music-making on a deluxe scale, with performers and listeners mutually uplifted by music’s wonders”. The set is being released in anticipation of the Festival’s 2013 season.
Reviewing the 2011 Live from Lugano release, Nicholas Kenyon wrote in The Observer, “There are not many reliable annual treats among classical CDs these days, but the series of live recordings from Martha Argerich’s Lugano festival are now a highlight of each year.” Andrew Clark in the Financial Times wrote, “Every June [Argerich] and a clutch of friends and protégés make music in a style that reflects her free spirit and total dedication. Even when Argerich is not playing, she seems to inspire the performance.”
In addition to Argerich, the performers in 2012 included many familiar names from previous Live from Lugano releases, among them the violinist and cellist brothers Renaud and Gautier Capuçon and pianist Nicholas Angelich, all of whom record for Virgin Classics. The current set also welcomes back Mischa Maisky, Lilya Zilberstein, Polina Leschenko, Dora Schwarzberg, Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg, Lyda Chen, Ilya Gringolts, Georgio Tomassi, Carlo Maria Griguoli and Alessandro Stella. Newcomers include the pianists Maria João Pires and Nelson Goerner.
The repertoire of Martha Argerich and Friends – Live from Lugano 2012 puts the piano at the centre of the programming, focusing particularly on piano duets and rarely performed and recorded compositions. There is a group from the Austro-German Classical and Romantic tradition, followed by works from Slavic composers, sounds from Italy and France and, as a send-off, a two piano arrangement of an Argentinean tango. The performance of Mahler’s Piano Quartet is something of a family affair, performed by Ms Argerich’s longest-standing artistic collaborator Mischa Maisky, his pianist daughter Lily and violinist son Sascha and Ms Argerich’s daughter Lyda Chen. The orchestral work in this year’s set is Mozart’s Concerto K503 with Argerich and the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana conducted by Jacek Kaspszyk.
Martha Argerich’s passion, technical virtuosity, temperament, commitment and supreme artistry have illuminated the music world and left audiences spellbound since she won the 1964 International Chopin Competition. Reluctant to perform solo for many years, she has continued to perform chamber music and concertos with orchestra where, in her own words, “I feel the musicians moving about. I watch them and I also move. I’m more natural.”
EMI Classics marked the occasion of Martha Argerich’s 70th birthday in 2011 with the release of four multi-disc sets bearing some of her finest performances from 1965 to 2009.
Few artists have nurtured and promoted emerging young musicians with the level of personal commitment shown by Martha Argerich. In the process, she has created inspired chamber music partnerships mixing established and up-and-coming artists. After setting up Meeting Point at Beppu, Japan in 1996 and the Martha Argerich Festival in Buenos Aires in 1999, the pianist decided to create a similar gathering of musical minds in Europe. The southern Swiss town of Lugano was identified as an ideal setting for a project based on the spirit of building a community of close-knit relationships among young and established artists and the Progetto Martha Argerich was launched in 2002. More than a decade later, the Festival continues to retain its original experimental ‘feel’ because of the original programming and the emergence of new performing talents. Geoffrey Norris in The Daily Telegraph wrote, “It is always instructive to see who has been invited to perform at the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, because the cast list is a reliable guide to some of the most exciting talent in the musical world today.”
The twelfth season of the Martha Argerich Project will take place from 9 June to 3 July 2013 and will include performances by many of the artists on this set.
EMI would like to dedicate these recordings to the memory of Jurg ‘Abdul’ Grand, who founded the Martha Argerich Project at the 2002 Festival and co-directed the 2002 and 2003 events.
“Everything Martha Argerich touches turns to gold, not only her own piano playing but those around her whom she evidently inspires to new heights.” (The Observer)
“These discs are a reminder of a unique, ever-formidable and enchanting artist.” (Gramophone)