Martha Argerich

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Martha Argerich
Martha Argerich en el Centro Cultural Kirchner - 19788929535.jpg
Argerich in 2015
Background information
Born (1941-06-05) 5 June 1941 (age 80)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Pianist
InstrumentsPiano

Martha Argerich (Eastern Catalan pronunciation: [ˈmaɾta əɾʒəˈɾik]; Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaɾta aɾxeˈɾitʃ]; born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine-Swiss classical concert pianist. She is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of all time.[1]

Early life and education[]

Argerich aged 21, in 1962

Argerich was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[2] Her paternal ancestors were Spaniards from Catalonia based in Buenos Aires since the 18th century. Her maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire, who settled in Colonia Villa Clara in Argentina's Entre Ríos province, one of the colonies established by Baron de Hirsch and the Jewish Colonization Association.[3][4] The provenance of the name Argerich is Catalonia.

A precocious child, Argerich began kindergarten at the age of two years and eight months, where she was the youngest child. A five-year-old boy, who was a friend, teased her that she would not be able to play the piano, and Argerich responded by playing perfectly, by ear, a piece their teacher played them. The teacher immediately called the mother and they "started making a fuss." She started learning the piano at the age of three.[5] At the age of five, she moved to teacher Vincenzo Scaramuzza, who stressed to her the importance of lyricism and feeling. Argerich gave her debut concert in 1949 at the age of eight. The family moved to Europe in 1955, where Argerich studied with Friedrich Gulda in Austria, whom Argerich describes as one of her major influences. She later studied with Stefan Askenase and Maria Curcio.[6] Argerich also seized opportunities for brief periods of coaching with Madeleine Lipatti (widow of Dinu Lipatti), Abbey Simon, and Nikita Magaloff.[7] In 1957, at sixteen, she won both the Geneva International Music Competition and the Ferruccio Busoni International Competition within three weeks of each other. [n 1]

Following this success, Argerich had a personal and artistic crisis; she did not play the piano for three years and considered giving it up to train as a secretary or doctor.[9] She credited Anny Askenase, the wife of Stefan Askenase, with encouraging her to return to the piano.[5] Following her return, Argerich won the prestigious VII International Chopin Piano Competition in 1965.

Professional career[]

Argerich during a rehearsal with the orchestra for the final of the VII International Chopin Piano Competition

Argerich performed her debut concert at the age of 8, playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor and Beethoven's First Piano Concerto in C major.[10] Argerich gained international prominence when she won the VII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1965, at age 24. In that same year, she debuted in the United States in Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series. In 1960, she had made her first commercial recording, which included works by Chopin, Brahms, Ravel, Prokofiev, and Liszt; it received critical acclaim upon its release in 1961. She has since recorded works by composers including Ginastera, Rachmaninoff and Schumann, whom she describes feeling a particular connection to.[11]

Argerich has often remarked in interviews of feeling "lonely" on stage during solo performances.[12] Since the 1980s, she has staged few solo performances, concentrating instead on concertos and, in particular, chamber music, and collaborating with instrumentalists in sonatas.

Argerich performing at the Kirchner Cultural Centre

Argerich has also promoted younger pianists, both through her annual festival and through her appearances as a member of the jury at international competitions.[13][14][15] The pianist Ivo Pogorelić was thrust into the musical spotlight partly as a result of Argerich's actions: after he was eliminated in the third round of the 1980 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Argerich proclaimed him a genius and left the jury in protest.[16] She has supported several artists including Gabriela Montero, Mauricio Vallina, Sergio Tiempo, Roberto Carnevale, Gabriele Baldocci, Christopher Falzone[17] and others.[18][19]

Argerich is the president of the International Piano Academy Lake Como and performs annually at the Lugano Festival.[20] She has also created and been a General Director of the Argerich Music Festival and Encounter in Beppu, Japan, since 1996.

Argerich performing at the Kirchner Cultural Centre, July 2015

Her aversion to the press and publicity has resulted in her remaining out of the limelight for most of her career. Nevertheless, she is widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists in history.[21][22][23][24] Her performance of Liszt's First Piano Concerto conducted by Daniel Barenboim at The Proms 2016 prompted this review in The Guardian: "It was an unforgettable performance. Argerich celebrated her 75th birthday in June this year, but that news doesn’t seem to have reached her fingers. Her playing is still as dazzling, as frighteningly precise, as it has always been; her ability to spin gossamer threads of melody as matchless as ever. This was unmistakably and unashamedly Liszt in the grand manner, a bit old-fashioned and sometimes even a bit vulgar at times, but in this of all concertos, with Barenboim and the orchestra following each twist and turn, every little quickening and moment of expressive reflection, it seemed entirely appropriate".[25] Argerich returned to the Proms at the age of 78 in 2019 to perform Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto under the baton of Barenboim, a performance described as "mesmerizing".[26]

Personal life[]

Martha Argerich introduces herself, 2018
External audio
audio icon You may hear Martha Argerich performing Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826 Here on archive.org

Argerich has been married two times. Her first marriage, to composer-conductor Robert Chen (Chinese: 陈亮声; pinyin: Chén Liàngshēng)[27] and with whom she had a daughter, violinist Lyda Chen-Argerich,[28] ended in 1964.[29] From 1969 to 1973, Argerich was married to Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit, with whom she had a daughter, Annie Dutoit. Argerich continues to record and perform with Dutoit. In the 1970s, she had a relationship with pianist Stephen Kovacevich,[30] with whom she has a daughter, Stéphanie.[29] Although they made few recordings together during their relationship, Argerich and Kovacevich still frequently perform together.[31] In her film Bloody Daughter, Stéphanie Argerich explains that as her parents were not married they tossed a coin to name their daughter and Argerich won the toss.

Argerich is a polyglot and has lived in Belgium, Switzerland (where she has citizenship) and France.[32]

In 1990, Argerich was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. After treatment, the cancer went into remission, but there was a recurrence in 1995, eventually metastasizing to her lungs and lymph nodes. Following an experimental treatment at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica pioneered by oncologist Donald Morton, Argerich's cancer went into remission again. In gratitude, Argerich performed a Carnegie Hall recital benefiting the institute.[33] As of 2020, Argerich remained cancer-free.[34]

Media[]

In 2002, director  [de] released Martha Argerich, conversation nocturne (Martha Argerich, Evening Talks), a documentary film about Argerich.[35] Stéphanie Argerich Blagojevic directed a documentary film about her mother, Bloody Daughter, based on film shot since her childhood.[36]

Awards[]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ At the latter she met Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, whom she would later seek out for lessons – although she studied with him for over a year, she only had four lessons with him. Michelangeli, when asked what he had done for Argerich, replied: "I taught her the gift of silence".[8]

References[]

  1. ^ "The 20 Greatest Pianists of all time | Classical-Music.com". www.classical-music.com.
  2. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (25 March 2000). "An Enigmatic Pianist Reclaims Her Stardom". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  3. ^ "La vida de una pianista única: "Martha Argerich" por Moshé Korin". Lavozylaopinion.com.ar. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Portrait : Martha Argerich – Arts-Scènes". Owl-ge.ch. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Elder, Dean (5 February 1978). "Excerpts from "The Mercurial Martha Argerich"". Archived from the original on 7 June 2000. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  6. ^ Niel Immelman (14 April 2009). "The Guardian, 14 April 2009". Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  7. ^ Manildi, Donald Musician of the Year 2001 Martha Argerich, "Musical America", 2001
  8. ^ name="Sweeting">Andrew Clark (8 July 2011). "Strains of mood music". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  9. ^ Doherty, Kevin. "Artist Of The Week: Martha Argerich". www.capradio.org.
  10. ^ "Martha Argerich (Piano) – Short Biography". Bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Bloody Daughter"
  12. ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  13. ^ "About". Chopin International Competition. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  14. ^ "Jury". ASU Competition. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  15. ^ "Ninth Competition". Arthur Rubinstein Competition. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  16. ^ McCormick, Lisa (2018). "Pogorelich at the Chopin: Towards a sociology of competition scandals". The Chopin Review. Fryderyk Chopin Institute (1). ISSN 2544-9249.
  17. ^ "Classicalrecitals". YouTube. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  18. ^ "Progetto Martha Argerich" (in Italian). Rsi.ch. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  19. ^ "Progetto Martha Argerich" (in Italian). Rsi.ch. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  20. ^ "Progetto Martha Argerich" (in Italian). .rsi.ch. Archived from the original on 4 November 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  21. ^ Ross, Alex (12 November 2001). "Madame X". The New Yorker. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  22. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (20 March 2005). "Classical Music: Recordings; Boisterous Beethoven, Brooding Brahms". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  23. ^ Carrizo, Rodrigo (24 January 2013). "Examining a Martha-daughter relationship – SWI". Swissinfo.ch. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  24. ^ In a 2001 article about Martha Argerich for The New Yorker, critic Alex Ross wrote: "Argerich brings to bear qualities that are seldom contained in one person: she is a pianist of brain-teasing technical agility; she is a charismatic woman with an enigmatic reputation; she is an unaffected interpreter whose native language is music. This last may be the quality that sets her apart. A lot of pianists play huge double octaves; a lot of pianists photograph well. But few have the unerring naturalness of phrasing that allows them to embody the music rather than interpret it."
  25. ^ "West-Eastern Divan Orchestra/Barenboim/Argerich review – extraordinary in every respect". The Guardian. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  26. ^ Clements, Andrew (13 August 2019). "Prom 34: West-Eastern Divan Orch/Barenboim/Argerich review – immaculate and mesmerising" – via www.theguardian.com.
  27. ^ "二十八国华人演奏家"百鸟还巢"". News.163.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  28. ^ "Lyda Chen-Argerich, violinist". Sens Management. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b Hauptfuhrer, Fred; Vespa, Mary (7 April 1980). "A Top Woman Pianist, Martha Argerich, Nearly Gave Up Her Steinway for Steno". people.com. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  30. ^ "Martha Argerich Speaks to Stephen Kovacevich". Gramophone.co.uk. November 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  31. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_AVhqab1hE
  32. ^ http://www.newwavefilms.co.uk/assets/976/ARGERICH_pressbook_update#:~:text=St%C3%A9phanie%20Argerich%20%2D%20DIRECTOR,of%20Design%20in%20New%20York.
  33. ^ Toronto Globe and Mail, concert review, 28 March 2000
  34. ^ Midgette, Anne (1 December 2016). "Martha Argerich is a legend of the classical music world. But she doesn't act like one". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  35. ^ "Martha Argerich, conversation nocturne" – via www.imdb.com.
  36. ^ Leslie Felperin (30 April 2015). "Argerich review – a daughter's honest portrait of her classical-pianist mother". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  37. ^ "Storia del Concorso – Fondazione Concorso Pianistico Internazionale Ferruccio Busoni". Concorsobusoni.it. Archived from the original on 14 November 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  38. ^ "Gramophone Hall of Fame : Artists Page". Gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  39. ^ "The Kennedy Center Honors". Kennedy-center.org. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  40. ^ "Concerto in onore di Zubin Mehta". Presidenza della Repubblica (Italy). 24 October 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.

External links[]

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