Argerich and Babayan join forces in Cleveland

By Sam Jacobson, 02 November 2017

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“an electric chemistry”

Reviewed at Severance Music Center: Mandel Concert Hall, Cleveland on 30 October 2017

Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet - Ten Pieces for Piano, Op.75 (trans. Sergei Babayan)

Mozart, Sonata for two pianos in D major, K448 (K375a)

Prokofiev, Hamlet, Op.77 (The Ghost of Hamlet's Father)

Prokofiev, Eugene Onegin, Op.71 (Mazurka & Polka)

Prokofiev, The Queen of Spades, Op.70 (Polonaise & Idée fixe)

Prokofiev, Pushkin Waltzes, Op.120 (No. 2)

Prokofiev, War and Peace, Op.91: Natasha and Andrei's Waltz

Rachmaninov, Suite no. 1 "Fantaisie-Tableaux" for Two Pianos, Op.5 (Barcarolle)

Rachmaninov, Suite no. 2 for Two Pianos, Op. 17 (Valse)

Martha Argerich, Piano

Sergei Babayan, Piano

Argerich, Maisky and the elixir of youth

Mark Pullinger, 6th February

Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky's duo recital at Wigmore Hall turns into a trio... and offers the London audience a rare opportunity to hear the Argentinian pianist play solo.

****1

Sinning on a Sunday: Argerich, Mehta and the Vienna Philharmonic

Chanda VanderHart, 17th March

In the sacred golden temple that is the Musikverein, Martha Argerich plays Ravel's saucy Piano Concerto in G major, before the Philharmoniker and Zubin Mehta play Bruckner's Seventh Symphony.

****1

Stars, slapstick and soul: Martha Argerich joins the Rotterdam Phil

Eleanor Knight, 28th September

Soaring choral music precedes the arrival of Martha Argerich for a daredevil account of Shostakovich's First Piano Concerto with RPhO Principal Trumpet, Alex Elia.

*****

Argerich and Dutoit demonstrate that vitality is ageless

Edward Sava-Segal, 18th September

Martha Argerich returns to the Enescu Festival for one of the pillars of her repertory, Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto, in a buoyant performance.

***11

Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and Martha Argerich in Évian

David Karlin, 2nd July

Argerich shows her full artistry, while Europe's young musicians show impressive coordination and dynamics, if short of emotion in Beethoven 7.

****1

Clumsy Liszt, listless Berlioz from Barenboim and the Staatskapelle

Mark Pullinger, 7th March

Some conductors get better with age, ripening like fine wines, but age wearies others. Daniel Barenboim’s decline is difficult to bear.

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Sam Jacobson

Sam Jacobson has been writing for Bachtrack since 2015 and is currently in Pittsburgh, having previously lived throughout the Midwest. A keen traveler, he endeavors to see all the great orchestras and opera houses across the US and abroad. Outside of music, he works as a software engineer. He also maintains a blog which can be read here.

The orchestral piano: Argerich and Babayan join forces in spectacular Cleveland recital