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Martha Argerich
Classical Music / Concert Pianist
Martha Argerich. (Photo: Wiki CC)
Martha Argerich (born June 5, 1941), is an Argentine-Swiss classical concert pianist. She is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of all time.Argerich is a polyglot and has lived in Belgium, Switzerland (where she has citizenship) and France. A precocious child, Argerich began nursery aged two years and eight months, where she was the youngest child. She started learning the piano at the age of
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 remarkable age of eight, playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor and Beethoven's First Piano Concerto in C major.
The family moved to Europe in 1955, where Argerich studied with Friedrich Gulda in Austria, whom Argerich describes as one of her major influences. She later studied with other prominent piano teachers at the time. In 1957, at sixteen, she won both the Geneva International Music Competition and the Ferruccio Busoni International Competition within three weeks of each other. Following this success, Argerich had a personal and artistic crisis; she did not play the piano for three years and considered giving it up to train as a secretary or doctor. She credited Anny Askenase (the wife of Stefan Askenase) with encouraging her to return to the piano. Following her return, Argerich won the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition in 1965.
Argerich has been married three times. Her first marriage, to composer-conductor Robert Chen and with whom she had a daughter, lawyer and violist Lyda Chen-Argerich, ended in 1964. From 1969 to 1973, Argerich was married to Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit, with whom she had a daughter, Annie Dutoit. Argerich continues to record and perform with Dutoit. In the 1970s, she was also briefly married to pianist Stephen Kovacevich, with whom she has a daughter, Stéphanie. Although they made few recordings together during their marriage, Argerich and Kovacevich still frequently perform together.
Argerich gained international prominence when she won the seventh International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1965, at age 24. In that same year, she debuted in the United States in Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series. In 1960, she had made her first commercial recording; it received critical acclaim upon its release in 1961. She has since recorded works by composers. It is with Schumann's works that she describes feeling a particular connection to.
Argerich has remarked in interviews of feeling "lonely" on stage during solo performances. Since the 1980s, she has staged few solo performances, concentrating instead on concertos and, in particular, chamber music, collaborating with instrumentalists in sonatas.
In 1990, Argerich was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. After
treatment, the cancer went into remission, and a recurrence in 1995, eventually metastasizing to her lungs and lymph nodes. Following an experimental treatment at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica pioneered by oncologist Donald Morton, Argerich's cancer went into remission again. In gratitude, Argerich performed a Carnegie Hall recital benefiting the institute. As of 2020, Argerich remained cancer-free.
Through her
annual festival and her appearances as a member of the jury at international competitions, Argerich has also promoted younger pianists. She performs annually at the Lugano Festival. She has also created and been a General Director of the Argerich Music Festival and Encounter in Beppu, Japan, since 1996.
In 2002, director Georges Gachot [de] released Martha Argerich, Evening Conversation, a documentary film. Stéphanie Argerich Blagojevic directed a documentary film about her mother, Bloody Daughter, based on film shot since her childhood.
Despite her aversion to the press and publicity that has resulted in her remaining out of the limelight for most of her career, she is widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists in history. Her performance of Liszt's First Piano Concerto conducted by Daniel Barenboim at The Proms 2016 prompted this review in The Guardian:
"It was an unforgettable performance. Argerich celebrated her 75th
birthday in June this year, but that news doesn’t seem to have reached her fingers. Her playing is still as dazzling, as frighteningly precise, as it has always been; her ability to spin gossamer threads of melody
as matchless as ever. This was unmistakably and unashamedly Liszt in the grand manner, a bit old-fashioned and sometimes even a bit vulgar at times, but in this of all concertos, with Barenboim and the orchestra following each twist and turn, every little quickening and moment of expressive reflection, it seemed entirely
appropriate".
Argerich returned to the Proms at the age of 78 in 2019 to perform Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto under the baton of Barenboim, a performance described as "mesmerizing".
Awards:
Argerich is multi-awarded worldwide with highest honours in the area of her expertise.
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