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3CD
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Philoctetes
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I may have been a bit tipsy when I ordered this, the latest Lugano box from Argerich et al, but I certainly don't regret it. Just not absolutely sure why this one caught my eye when so many other years haven't for all the diversity of music on offer. It certainly wasn't for the front cover.
Many in the press have been talking about the concerto as the great standout performance of 2010, but I'd also put the Schnittke Piano Quintet right up there alongside it, polar opposites but equally bewitching. As tends to be the case, Schumann is on the menu, Argerich joining the Capucon bros in hearty renditions of the Violin Sonata No.1 and Adagio & Allegro (cello + piano). It's worth pointing out for those who worry about her absence in certain pieces that she doesn't appear at all on Disc 3: hers are Schumann/Chopin (concerto)/Liszt/Bartok. Next most glamorous among the pianists is Kovacevich who joins her for the Bartok, and then Gabriella Montero in the three "G's". I really liked the Porgy & Bess Fantasy but wasn't so hot on the succulent Piano Quintet by Korngold - one piece where Argerich's presence might have salvaged something. The Granados is a happier discovery.
I think this is a winning volume, especially if you don't already have the concerto with Argerich or any other version of the Schnittke. My other favourite from Lugano is 2007.
Many in the press have been talking about the concerto as the great standout performance of 2010, but I'd also put the Schnittke Piano Quintet right up there alongside it, polar opposites but equally bewitching. As tends to be the case, Schumann is on the menu, Argerich joining the Capucon bros in hearty renditions of the Violin Sonata No.1 and Adagio & Allegro (cello + piano). It's worth pointing out for those who worry about her absence in certain pieces that she doesn't appear at all on Disc 3: hers are Schumann/Chopin (concerto)/Liszt/Bartok. Next most glamorous among the pianists is Kovacevich who joins her for the Bartok, and then Gabriella Montero in the three "G's". I really liked the Porgy & Bess Fantasy but wasn't so hot on the succulent Piano Quintet by Korngold - one piece where Argerich's presence might have salvaged something. The Granados is a happier discovery.
I think this is a winning volume, especially if you don't already have the concerto with Argerich or any other version of the Schnittke. My other favourite from Lugano is 2007.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Mr Swallow
Format:Audio CD
Who wouldn't like a trip to the Lugano Festival to hear the great Martha Argerich and her friends in concert? Well, for those of us unable to make the trip, here are some of the performances produced by EMI at a very reasonable price indeed. Great performances of Schumann, Brahms and Bartok (music for two pianos and percussion) as well as some off-beat repetoire like the arrangement of Porgy and Bess. All in all, great fun, capped by a simply breathtaking performance of Chopin's first concerto by the great lady herself.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By schumann_bg
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD
This box set really is amazing value and would be well worth having at three times the price! Many people sing the praises of Martha Argerich to the skies, so that the superlatives start to seem a bit predictable almost, but here it has to be said that her performance of the Chopin concerto is a marvel. Of the three versions made commercially available it strikes me as the best, partly because it is so vividly recorded, but also because the live occasion always brings out something remarkable in her playing and the passion, risk-taking and sheer virtuosity of her dispatch leave you in a state of disbelief! I think this is probably the best Chopin 1 I have ever heard. There was a live recording of the Schumann with Harnoncourt a few years ago on Teldec where she was caught on tape with the same fire and urgency ... But that is by no means the only outstanding feature here; the two piano quintets by Granados and Korngold are both well worth getting to know, although I had never even heard of either, while Les Preludes by Liszt is given in a stunning two-piano arrangement by the composer, and there are brilliant arrangements of The Firebird, Porgy and Bess and other fantastic original music. Both Capucon brothers put in an appearance in Schumann works and are outstanding, and Stephen Kovacevich appears in a very welcome new version of the Bartok Sonata for two pianos and percussion ... Altogether these performances give a great deal of pleasure and make you wish you could have been there live; however failing this, hearing these discs is the next best thing.
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
As you would expect these are excellent performances of the various works in the set. I particularly liked the piano transcription of Liszt's Les Preludes and I would recommend this set to anyone who likes to listen to piano performances of the first order.
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