Tag: Martha Argerich

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Martha Argerich was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her paternal ancestors were Catalans 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 the Entre Ríos province. The provenance of the name Argerich is Catalonia, Spain.

Martha Argerich started playing the piano at age three. 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. Juan Perón, then the president of Argentina, made their decision possible by appointing her parents to diplomatic posts in the Argentine Embassy in Vienna. She later studied with Stefan Askenase and Maria Curcio. Argerich also seized opportunities for brief periods of coaching with Madeleine Lipatti (widow of Dinu Lipatti), Abbey Simon, and Nikita Magaloff.

Martha Argerich performs the third and last movement from Prokofiev's Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major

Prokofiev – Sonata No. 7, Precipitato – Argerich, Piano

Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83 (1942) (occasionally called the “Stalingrad”) is the second of the three “War Sonatas” written by Sergei Prokofiev. The sonata was first performed on 18 January 1943 in Moscow by Sviatoslav Richter.

Martha Argerich plays Chopin's Andante Spianato

ROMANTIC MUSIC / Piano

Chopin – Andante Spianato – Argerich, Piano

In 1834, Frédéric Chopin wrote an Andante Spianato in G Major, for piano solo, which he added to the start of the Grande Polonaise Brillante in E-Flat Major and joined the two parts with a fanfare-like sequence.

ROMANTIC MUSIC / Mazurka / Piano

Chopin – Mazurka Op. 59 No. 1 – Argerich, Piano

Mazurka Op. 59 No. 1 in A Minor is the opening piece of Mazurkas Op. 59, a set of three Mazurkas for solo piano by Frédéric Chopin. The set was composed and published in 1845.

Renaud Capuçon and Martha Argerich play Beethoven's Violin and Piano Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30 No. 3

CLASSICAL MUSIC / Piano / Sonata / Violin

Beethoven – Violin Sonata No. 8 – Capuçon; Argerich

The Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30 No. 3, by Ludwig van Beethoven, the third of his Opus 30 set, was written between 1801 and 1802, published in May 1803, and dedicated to Tsar Alexander I of Russia.

Martha Argerich plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major Op. 15

CLASSICAL MUSIC / Concerto / Piano

Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 1 – Martha Argerich

Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 1 in C major, Op. 15, was written in 1795, then revised in 1800. The first performance took place on 18 December 1795 in Vienna with Ludwig van Beethoven himself as soloist.

Chopin - Prelude No 16 Op 28 in B-Flat Minor - Argerich, Piano

ROMANTIC MUSIC / Piano / Prelude

Chopin – Prelude No. 16 – Martha Argerich, Piano

Chopin’s 24 Preludes Op. 28, are a set of short pieces for the piano, one in each of the twenty-four keys, originally published in 1839. Chopin’s Prelude No 16 in B-Flat Minor, Presto con fuoco, is certainly the most difficult of the set.

Martha Argerich plays Bartok's piano concerto No. 3 in E Major

20th-CENTURY MUSIC / Concerto / Piano

Bartok – Piano Concerto No. 3 – Martha Argerich

Bartók’s Piano Concerto No 3 in E Major, was composed in 1945 during the final months of his life, as a surprise birthday present for his second wife Ditta Pásztory-Bartók. Béla Bartók died on September 26, 1945, with the concerto unfinished.

Bach - Toccata in C Minor BWV 911 - Martha Argerich, Piano

BAROQUE MUSIQUE / Piano / Toccata

Bach – Toccata in C Minor BWV 911 – Argerich, Piano

The Toccata in C Minor is part of the Toccatas for Keyboard, BWV 910–916, seven pieces for clavier written by Johann Sebastian Bach. Though the specific instrumentation is not given for any of the works, they are all strictly manualiter, as none of them call for pedal parts.

20th-CENTURY MUSIC / Piano / Toccata

Prokofiev – Toccata in D Minor – Martha Argerich, Piano

The Toccata in D minor Op. 11 for solo piano was written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1912 and debuted by the composer on December 10, 1916 in Petrograd.

Martha Argerich performs Haydn's piano concerto No. 11 in D Major

CLASSICAL MUSIC / Concerto / Piano

Haydn – Piano Concerto No. 11 – Martha Argerich

Joseph Haydn’s Keyboard Concerto No 11 in D major (Hob. XVIII/11) was written between 1780 and 1783, and published in 1784. It was originally composed for harpsichord or fortepiano and scored for an orchestra in a relatively undeveloped galant style.