Martha Argerich Edition: Concertos is one of several box sets issued in 2011 in honor of her 70th birthday. These four discs gather ten complete concertos recorded between 1997 and 2009 for
EMI. As an artist as well-known for her loyalty to particular repertoire and particular musicians, most of these works have been recorded by
Argerich multiple times.
Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3, one of the first concertos she ever recorded, is here in a 1997 performance with conductor
Charles Dutoit, one of her best collaborators. The two recorded both
Chopin concertos the following year, also included here. Others of
Argerich's most frequent collaborators are found on
Beethoven's Triple Concerto:
Renaud Capuçon,
Mischa Maisky, and
Alexandre Rabinovitch. The recordings of fellow pianist
Mikhail Pletnev's Fantasia elvetica and of Falla's Noches en los jardines de España come from her Lugano Festival, an annual event founded in 2002 where
Argerich gathers friends -- her familiar collaborators and new, promising, young musicians -- for music-making. The collection unfortunately does not include
Ravel's Concerto in G, the other concerto typically noted as one of
Argerich's best interpretations. Yet, it should very well satisfy those who want to get to know
Argerich's work in the concerto repertoire as a mature musician at the height of her talent.