Following her magnificent
live accounts of Beethoven Concertos
Nos. 2 and 3 with the Mahler Chamber
Orchestra under Abbado, here DG gives
us an opportunity to hear Argerich the
accompanist. She has enjoyed a chamber
partnership with Mischa Maisky for a
while now, and their musical closeness
shows.
The violin/piano arrangement
of numbers from Stravinsky’s neo-classical
ballet Pulcinella is well-known,
the Stravinsky/Piatigorsky arrangement
perhaps less so. Maisky and Argerich
have you ask why. Beginning in the most
exuberant fashion imaginable, this is
a performance that pits energy - a hectic
Tarantella - against tenderness (Serenata)
and good old fun (the finale). The Minuetto
that leads into the finale is notable
for Argerich’s beautiful shaping of
the theme at the very beginning – this
is no mere marking of time until Maisky
enters. The rhythmic play of the finale
is enjoyed to the full by both players,
the cheers from the audience at the
end completely justified. Interestingly,
there is one second less applause after
Pulcinella than there was for when the
artists entered – I am sure this is
not significant!.
The meat of the recital
is, of course the sonatas by Prokofiev
and Shostakovich. Prokofiev comes first;
maybe it was originally planned as second,
because the booklet notes treat the
two sonatas in reverse order. And a
real ‘first’ it is, too. This was Argerich’s
first complete public performance of
the work, and there is a real concentration
from both pianist and cellist that brings
the piece to life, from Maisky’s thoughtfully
soliloquizing opening onwards. There
is real tension brought about around
2’35 onwards, at which point Argerich
seems intent on breaking fully free
to bask in Prokofiev’s openly lyric
stance. In fact the many moods of this
movement are conveyed in bright colours,
none less so than the manic passage
around 9’50, with Maisky pouring superhuman
energy into his arpeggiations, against
Argerich’s bell-like tolling chords.
How great a contrast,
then, is the witty slapstick of the
central Moderato, and how carefully
timed is the sudden lyricism at 2’03
- just the right amount. The finale
includes a moment of real pianissimo
magic; around three minutes in.
Shostakovich’s Sonata
of 1934 is a work that explores the
composer’s interior side. Appropriately,
then, this account begins almost tentatively.
Both players are completely immersed
in this intense music. Because of their
combined concentration, they can take
risks with tempo that, without exception,
are successful, all of which puts the
ultra-manic Allegro that follows into
high relief. Argerich’s repeated notes
simply have to be heard! This
is live music making caught on the wing.
The numbness of the Largo though is
surely the most memorable aspect of
this performance. Try the ultra-delicate,
completely stripped bare passage around
5’10. The teasing finale takes us into
another world, contrasts underlined
here, wit to the fore.
Certainly a whole Universe
away from Peter Wispelwey and Dejan
Lazic’s recent Wigmore Monday lunchtime
recital, which pitted the mighty Prokofiev
and Shostakovich against each other,
rather less successfully http://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2005/Jan-Jun05/wispelwey1701.htm
).
Argerich once more
teases the listener in the encore, a
tiny Waltz from Prokofiev’s Stone
Flower. The listener is certainly
kept on his/her toes in this delightful
morceau.
A magnificent triumph
for all concerned including the recording
team of Producer Sid McLaughlin and
Engineer Stephan Flock, who have managed
to convey all the atmosphere of a live
event with the utmost clarity. My disc
of the month.
Colin Clarke
Mischa Maisky (cello); Martha Argerich (piano).
