Album

Following the first volume of solo recordings, Vol. 2 of the Martha Argerich Collection features seven discs of the artist's treasured concerto recordings. Listeners who have not already heard the majority of these performances owe it to themselves to start now; this collection truly contains the vast majority of Argerich's most significant performances and legendary collaborations. From the cleanliness and precision of her Beethoven with Sinopoli, to the unbridled passion of her Schumann with Rostropovich, to the sheer elegance of her Ravel with Abbado, Argerich is an artist with nearly limitless technical capacity, interpretive abilities, and variety of color and tone. While all of the 16 concertos heard here are performed with the utmost in tempered musical expressiveness and precision, there are two definite standouts. Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, performed with her then-husband Charles Dutoit and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, is filled with as much power and vehemence as could ever be expected. Coupled with the surprising muscularity of Argerich's playing is a gracefully nimble touch in the concerto's rapid passagework that will capture listeners' attention from note one. Prokofiev's Third Concerto is a work with which Argerich has had a very special relationship, earning her high marks for her singular interpretation of the fiendishly difficult concerto. The recording featured here with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic is among the finest made of the piece.

© Mike D. Brownell, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 7
Sergey Prokofiev Composer Piano Concerto No.3 in C, Op.26 Work Recorded 1967 27:04 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
1	1.Andante. Allegro	9:01			$1.49
2	2.Theme and Variations. Andantino	9:03			$1.49
3	3.Allegro ma non troppo	9:00			$1.49
Maurice Ravel Composer Piano Concerto in G Work Recorded 1967 21:06 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
4	1.Allegramente	8:08			$1.49
5	2.Adagio assai	9:03			$1.49
6	3.Presto	3:55			$0.99
CD 2 of 7
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Piano Concerto No.1 in E-, Op.11 Work Recorded 1968 37:57 London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
1	1.Allegro maestoso e risoluto	18:57			$2.99
2	2.Romanze: Larghetto	9:58			$1.49
3	3.Rondo: Vivace	9:02			$1.49
Franz Liszt Composer Piano Concerto No.1 in Eb, S.124 Work Recorded 1968 17:35 London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
4	1.Allegro maestoso	5:08			$0.99
5	2.Quasi adagio, 3.Allegretto vivace	8:26			$1.49
6	4.Allegro marziale animato	4:01			$0.99
Maurice Ravel Composer Piano Concerto in G Work Recorded 1984 22:11 London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
7	1.Allegramente	8:43			$1.49
8	2.Adagio assai	9:32			$1.49
9	3.Presto	3:56			$0.99
CD 3 of 7
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer Piano Concerto No.1 in Bb-, Op.23 Work Recorded 1970 35:38 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Charles Dutoit Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
1	1.Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso	21:16			$3.49
2	2.Andantino semplice	7:31			$1.49
3	3.Allegro con fuoco	6:51			$0.99
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Composer Concerto for Piano, Violin, and String Orchestra in D- Work Recorded 1988 36:37 Gidon Kremer Violin, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Martha Argerich Piano
4	1.Allegro	18:26			$2.99
5	2.Adagio	9:12			$1.49
6	3.Allegro molto	8:59			$1.49
CD 4 of 7
Robert Alexander Schumann Composer Piano Concerto in A-, Op.54 Work Recorded 1978 29:44 National Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
1	1.Allegro affettuoso. Andante espressivo. Allegro	14:24			$2.49
2	2.Intermezzo: Andante grazioso	5:09			$0.99
3	3.Allegro vivace	10:11			$1.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Piano Concerto No.2 in F-, Op.21 Work Recorded 1978 30:47 National Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
4	1.Allegro maestoso	14:01			$2.49
5	2.Larghetto	8:50			$1.49
6	3.Allegro vivace	7:56			$1.49
CD 5 of 7
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto No.1 in C, Op.15 Work Recorded 1985 35:13 Giuseppe Sinopoli Conductor, Philharmonia Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Martha Argerich Piano
1	1.Allegro con brio	14:10			$2.49
2	2.Largo	12:05			$1.99
3	3.Rondo: Allegro scherzando	8:58			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto No.2 in Bb, Op.19 Work Recorded 1985 30:04 Giuseppe Sinopoli Conductor, Philharmonia Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Martha Argerich Piano
4	1.Allegro con brio	14:09			$2.49
5	2.Adagio	9:52			$1.49
6	3.Rondo: Allegro molto	6:03			$0.99
CD 6 of 7
Dmitri Shostakovich Composer Piano Concerto No.1 in C-, for piano, trumpet, and strings, Op.35 Work Recorded 1993 22:40 Jörg Faerber Conductor, Guy Touvron Trumpet, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Martha Argerich Piano
1	1.Allegretto	6:06			$0.99
2	2.Lento	8:22			$1.49
3	3.Moderato	1:42			$0.49
4	4.Allegro con brio	6:30			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer Keyboard Concerto in D, Hob.XVIII:11 Work Recorded 1993 18:49 Jörg Faerber Conductor, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Martha Argerich Piano
5	1.Vivace	7:28			$1.49
6	2.Un poco adagio	7:22			$1.49
7	3.Rondo all'Ungarese: Allegro assai	3:59			$0.99
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer Piano Concerto No.1 in Bb-, Op.23 Work Recorded 1994 32:00 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
8	1.Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso	19:12			$3.49
9	2.Andantino semplice	6:30			$0.99
10	3.Allegro con fuoco	6:18			$0.99
CD 7 of 7
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto No.3 in C-, Op.37 Work Recorded 2000 35:41 Mahler Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
1	1.Allegro con brio	16:11			$2.99
2	2.Largo	10:20			$1.99
3	3.Rondo: Allegro	9:10			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Concerto No.2 in Bb, Op.19 Work Recorded 2004 28:09 Mahler Chamber Orchestra Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Conductor, Martha Argerich Piano
4	1.Allegro con brio	13:19			$2.49
5	2.Adagio	8:48			$1.49
6	3.Rondo: Allegro molto	6:02			$0.99