Martha Argerich

Martha ARGERICH was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina). She began her first piano lessons at the age of five with Vincenzo Scaramuzza. Considered a child prodigy, she soon performs in public. In 1955, she moved to Europe and continued her studies in London, Vienna and in Switzerland with Seidlhofer, Gulda, Magaloff, Mrs Lipatti and Stefan Askenase. In 1957, she won the Bolzano and Geneva Piano Competitions, and in 1965 the Warsaw International Chopin Competition. Since then she has been one of the most prominent pianists in the world both in popularity and ability.

Martha Argerich has been rated highly for her performance of the virtuoso piano literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. Her large repertoire includes Bach and Bartok, Beethoven and Messiaen, as well as Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Franck, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky.

Though she is permanently invited by the most prestigious orchestras, conductors and music festivals in Europe, Japan and America, chamber music takes a significant part of her musical life. She regularly plays and records with pianists Nelson Freire and Alexandre Rabinovitch, cellist Mischa Maisky and violonist Gidon Kremer: "This harmony within a group of people gives me a strong and peaceful feeling".

Martha Argerich has recorded for all the main classical labels and many of her performances have been broadcast on television worldwide. She has received many awards for her EMI recordings : a Grammy Award for the Bartok and Prokofiev Concertos, Gramophone – Artist of the Year, Best Piano Concerto Recording of the Year for her Chopin concertos, Choc de la Monde de la Musique for her Amsterdam recital, Künstler des Jahres Deutscher Schallplatten Kritik, and a Grammy Award for Prokofiev’s Cinderella with Mikael Pletnev. This year her recordings were nominated by the Grammy Awards : “Martha Argerich and Friends/Live from Lugano” (EMI) for the Best Classical Album and Best Chamber Music Performance and Beethoven Concertos 2 & 3 with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Claudio Abbado (Deutsche Grammophon) for the Best Instrumental Soloist Performance.

Since 1998 she has been the Artistic Director of the Beppu Festival in Japan; in 1999 she created the International Piano Competition and Festival Martha Argerich in Buenos Aires, and in June 2002 the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano.

Martha ARGERICH has received numerous distinctions: Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 1996 and Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2004 by the French Government; Académicienne de Santa Cecilia in Rome in 1997; Musician of the Year, Musical America in 2001; "The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette" by the Japanese Emperor and the prestigious Praemium Imperiale by the Japan Art Association in 2005.