Martha Argerich and Friends | 
 enlarge | Actors: Martha Argerich, Janos Darvas
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $11.89
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Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 64436
Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Dubbed)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 56
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.5
MPN: 10356
ISBN: 630575540X
UPC: 013023035690
EAN: 9786305755401
ASIN: 630575540X
Theatrical Release Date: 1982
Release Date: February 29, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Description
A rare filmed performance of one of the greatest pianists of all times, Martha Argerich. Argerich is almost as well known for her reclusive nature as she is for her exciting performances. In this DVD release we are privileged to have captured Martha Argerich at her peak in three separate duets. These collaborations present an involved musical conversation unmatched by any solo performance. Martha Argerich and Nicolas Economou perform Mozart's "Piano Sonata for Four Hands in D major, K. 381," and then, together with Mischa Maisky, Argerich plays Schuman's "Phantasiestuecke op.73, No. 1-3." Finally, Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire perform two pieces; Rachmaninov's "Suite for Two Pianos no. 2, Op.17" and Ravel's "La Valse." This DVD release includes the unique feature of optional on-screen analysis of the music being performed as well as subtitle display of the mood and tempo. An in-depth biography of each of the performers is included, as are on-screen liner notes, a glossary of musical terms and contemporary history of the compositions. This remastered footage was originally filmed in 1982, and the music was remixed from the original multitrack tapes to a 5.1 dolby digital mix. Audio options include the original non-compressed stereo mix.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 A great treat for fans of Argerich and her collaborators November 23, 2008
Like most of Mozart's piano sonatas, the Sonata for Four Hands is playful, lively and melodic, a fine and appropriately engaging piece with which to begin this video's proceedings and showcase the virtuosic interaction between Argerich and the late Nicolas Economou. Unsurprisingly, Economou is assigned the first of this work's two parts, sparing Argerich the sonata's numerous short trills, flourishes that she admittedly dreads in Scarlatti and Mozart compositions. This is not to suggest that Argerich's secondo isn't rigorous; as usual, she sets a brisk pace that Economou expertly matches, and the playing of the two pianists is perfectly synchronized.br /br /Argerich and Mischa Maisky perform a transcription of Schumann's "Phantasiestuecke" for cello and piano, which bears a denser tonality than the original arrangements for clarinet and piano. In the "Zart und mit Ausdruck" and "Lebhaft, leicht" movements, Maisky subtly follows Argerich's lead in echoed variation of the themes that her piano piece establishes; in the final "Rasch und mit Feuer" movement, his cello is aggressively dominant, and both musicians function as flawlessly when playing in concurrent meter. Though Argerich and Maisky have played together on scores of recordings and live performances over the course of thirty years, this early collaboration is just as good as anything they've done of late.br /br /The first of two presentations by Argerich and Nelson Freire is Rachmaninov's Suite for Two Pianos, a work that this reviewer cannot ably or impartially address due to a dearth of musicological knowledge and a distaste for Rachmaninov's typically convoluted works. Even a dilettante can recognize the vulgarity of a composition written to exhibit virtuosity for its own sake; the "Waltz" and "Tarantella" movements of this piece are surely the most graceless, meandering renderings of these dances that I've heard. I wouldn't suggest that Argerich and Freire didn't do this work justice as Horowitz and Rachmaninov surely did. This is a demanding and soundly conceived composition, one that's played with brilliance and impeccable skill. It's also one of the more tasteless erudite appropriations of proper dance forms that I'm aware of.br /br /In contrast to the Rachmaninov suite, Ravel's transcription for two pianos of his "La Valse" is a miraculous accomplishment. To hear this famous series of Viennese waltzes gradually take shape and spring from a dissonant haze is extraordinary in an orchestral context; executed on a pianoforte pair, this work is nothing less than astonishing. Just as Ravel wrote "Gaspard de la nuit" as "a caricature of romanticism," this morose, frenzied tribute to the most famous of ballroom dances expresses Ravel's Romance-era nostalgia and regret in the aftermath of the Great War. Some interpretations of this work suffer from languid pacing, but both Argerich and Freire perform with the exacting dexterity and at the feverish tempi that this piece requires.br /br /This video's recording is generally well shot and edited. Camera angles alternate between close-ups of hands and faces, and wide shots of the musicians and their instruments. The Mozart sonata benefits most from the photography: the shots of Economou's and Argerich's profiles are striking, as are angles framed beneath the piano's lid, emphasizing the pianists' expressive faces as the instrument's hammers strike its strings in the foreground beneath them. During the "Phantasiestuecke," Maisky is granted more attention, presumably because the greater elaboration of his part provides the viewer with more to see. Freire and Argerich are both afforded roughly equal screen time, and close-ups of their hands display the measured grace of their phrasing. However, a wide shot of both pianists at their respective instruments is something of a hindrance, appearing too often and lingering for too long. While the efficacy of the video's composition varies, numerous pans and zooms are implemented to great effect, providing the visuals with a fluid sense of movement to complement that of the musicians.br /br /This disc provides two audio options: a remastered 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track and the original stereo track. Both of these sound quite similar through my little TV speakers, so I'm absolved of an audiophile's comparative analysis. The "Title Display" option presents the title of each composition and movement in bright yellow subtitles as it begins, and the "Music Analysis" feature provides expository text of the same size and color that describes each passage as it's played for educational purposes. While the former feature is far more necessary, the latter is useful for locating certain repeated themes or variations thereof, especially those of the "Phantasiestuecke." The screen selection menu provides immediate access to every composition and movement therein.br /br /The bonus materials consist of some fairly substantial filler: liner notes detailing the histories and technical details of the performed compositions, listings of notable events that occurred during their respective years of completion and a glossary that provides definitions for all descriptive phrases, tempo marks and compositional forms related to these works. Brief biographies of all of the participating musicians are also included; these are accurate, save for one exception: Argerich's bio states that her interpretations "always stay close to the original score" and that she "does not release many recordings." Anyone familiar with the output of the world's most accomplished Argentine pianist knows full well the inaccuracy of the prior statement, and a brief visit to the excellent, comprehensive discography at www.argerich.jp is enough to repudiate the latter!
On Phantasiestuecke op.73 July 18, 2006
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I've had Jacqueline du Pre's recording of Schumann's Phantasiestuecke op.73 for years before I got this DVD. A few notes of comparison. In the du Pre recording, the cellist is clearly the star, the Phantasiestuecke a showcase for the cello, the piano mere accompaniment. Gerald Moore is made deliberately unremarkable perhaps, a muted background and ornamentation for the cellist. In this DVD, Argerich does not accompany Mischa Maisky; she performs Schumann with him. Argerich is legend, Maisky a celebrated cellist in his own right, yet there is no grandstanding or obsequious deference between the two. Instead their Phantasiestuecke is a beautiful duet of equals, a sonata, a dance between seasoned lovers, a sigh. After their performance I understood more the excess of rubato that is the usual observation on du Pre; it also means that the Phantasiestuecke too long drawn out can be dry and boring. We can forgive du Pre for this; she was 17 years old when she performed the piece. The half-fullness of the life of a teenager, however prodigious and gifted, would tell on the performance. One can only wonder how the mature du Pre would have assayed the piece had illness not felled her. With this DVD, we can be thankful that two seasoned artists performed it at their peak. At Argerich and Maisky's hands Schumann's work is infused with epiphany, humor, wisdom, and such nuance that the insight of years can mine. Don't pass up.
Three Super Stars In One Single DVD May 9, 2003
13 out of 16 found this review helpful
It was filmed in 1982. Martha, now in her old age, was still quite attractive then. What struck me instead was the similarities bewteen her and her former teacher Fredrich Gulda: the same kind of hands, the same touch, the equally strong sense of rhythm, and both almost equally dynamic...pArrau had ears only for her and Barenboim amongst the younger generation. But for the latter, Arrau's assessment might have included his achievement as a conductor. For Martha, Arrau said, "She is not very consistent but she has a revelatory power..." pThat power did not come from Gulda alone as he was just a bit short of that himself, albeit that it was him who laid her foundations. Audience who is familiar enough with Gieseking can tell that Martha has absorbed quite a bit from Gieseking and then a bit of Horowitz too. And behind all these was her personality which includes her shyness and her rebellion against the piano and she ran away from it very often and for the longest period three years. An excellent way of not getting mechanical! All these contributed to her unique power.pFrom Mozart for four hands, we see quite a lot of Martha's hands. And from Rachmaninov, we have much of her bare ( upper as well as lower) arms so that we can see the whole arms/ hands/fingers in action. There isn't any secret about her hands. Her facial expressions and bodily rhythmic movements are instead more telling, some kind of swooning we get from Gieseking's playing.pAmongst her partners, Economou is rather new to most audience, he is young and he is very good. As for Nelson Freire, he is definitely one of the best pianists who is still around. His touch as well as his facility are just amazing. To some (and among them one is none but Martha herself), he is even more interesting than Martha. With a greater musical mind, he would have made another piano Czar!pAs to Maisky, he is one of the most celebrated cellists today. He also played with his bare forearm, so that we can see his hands in actions. He is, like Elman the violinist, a rather small person and he often has to resort to a full swing of his whole arm when bowing, but the musicality is superb. He may not have the perfect ease or poise of Daniil Shafran, but he has definitely learned enough from Rostropovich and Fournier. Some audience even prefer him to YoYo Ma. It's a most lovely piece there.pThe drawbacks: yes, the sound and visual effects aren't quite the best. But they are more than acceptable. The way each clip finishes off is quite odd too. Above all, it's quite short only 56 minutes in total.
 pietre performance March 6, 2003
3 out of 13 found this review helpful
dommage, dommage, un manque flagrant de travail preparatoire a cet enregistrement, une prise de son souvent discutable, ( le coup de canon de la Valse m'a fait croire sur l'instant au passage du mur du son d'un avion a basse altitude !) des prises de vue banales sans interet, mais surtout une interpretation de Martha dans le Mozart frisant la desinvolture avec un ensemble parfois discutable sur des pianos dont on se demande s'ils sont bien accordes. La vedette de cette pietre performance reviendrait plutoet a Nelson Freire au jeu strict bien cisele, un peu conventionnel. Un manque de respect pour l'auditeur - spectateur que je suis. A la posterite, jugera t on Martha Argerich sur un tel enregistrement ?
Too many faces / So few hands January 10, 2002
23 out of 24 found this review helpful
This video is an excelent performance. In fact, Argerich was in a peak! Somethings that are not so good:pThe Schumann's Fatasie is a very nice piece and the sound is really good. But, I don't know why, the cameras seems to treat Mr. Maisky as a kind of soloist, and Argerich's hands its almost never seen.pThe cameras shows the faces of the musicians for a long time, more than necessary. When she was playing with Nelson Freire, there is a camera that shows a frontal vision of the two pianos, you see the body of the pianos instead of the hands. The hands appears too, but it could appear more.pSome positive points are:pThe sound quality is very, very good. The selection is very special. The last two pieces are very strong. The performance is perfect!pThere is some program extras, like biographies and music titles. One of them is a feature called music analisys. It's really interesting. You can listen to the music and see a legend explaining the parts of the music. For example, the parts of the sonata: exposition, codetta, development of the first theme and so on.
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