Martha Argerich and Friends is drawn from recitals given during the first three years of the Martha Argerich Project Lugano Festival. Chamber music and mentoring young musicians have been two constants in Argerich's career, and the two are the reasons behind the project. The festival gives more experienced or well-known performers and those who are less so a chance to work together and learn from each other, covering a wider variety of chamber music than most festivals. So on these three discs there's everything from piano duos to violin sonatas to a piano quintet, and Argerich herself isn't always the pianist.
The discs begin with a transcription of Prokofiev's "Classical" Symphony for piano duo performed by Argerich and Yefim Bronfman. Bronfman and Emanuel Ax have made some problematic recordings in the past, and compared to those, his musicality and expert ensemble work with Argerich are surprising and thoroughly enjoyable. Most of what is here is expertly done and quite pleasing. The first disc continues with the infectious liveliness of the Nutcracker Suite and the incredible sense of connectivity between the instruments' parts in the Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2. Maxim Vengerov and Lilya Zilberstein give the Brahms' Violin Sonata No. 3 a rich sound and allow its drama to come out naturally without overstating it. The recording of this and the Schubert Piano Trio No. 1 -- Bronfman, Renaud Capuçon, and Gautier Capuçon -- is very close and intimate, adding to the warmth of the music. The sound for the Schumann quintet is a little farther back, to accommodate the number of performers, but what makes this work stand out from the others is the speed and almost wild spirit of the performance. Violinist Dora Schwarzberg seems to be the most driven of the ensemble (although Argerich leads off the Scherzo pretty speedily), sometimes coming dangerously close to losing control of her bow. It's some frenzied music-making from the group. The Schumann Violin Sonata No. 1, with Argerich and Géza Hosszu-Legocky, is as passionate as the Brahms is intimate. The quality of the performances here is a testament to the devotion these musicians have to chamber music, which is beyond that of many solo artists.
© TiVo