Live from the Lugano Festival 2016

Superstar pianist Martha Argerich is one of the finest musicians of her generation, or indeed any generation. Born in Buenos Aires in 1941 to non-musical parents who encouraged her talents, she counted fellow Argentinian pianist Daniel Barenboim among her childhood friends and continues to collaborate with him today. Due to the isolation she felt while onstage alone, she gave up performing recitals from the 1980s. As a result, she is best-known for her concerto performances, chamber music collaborations and an extensive discography, but there is a solo treat here in Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit.    Argerich has also enjoyed a long and illustrious association with the annual festival at Lugano in Switzerland, presiding over some truly special collaborative musical performances, many of which—fortunately for us not lucky enough to have been in attendance—have been captured for posterity. This critically acclaimed 2017 album sees her joined by Renaud Capuçon, Karin Lechner and Stephen Kovacevich, among others, as they create some stellar performances of works by Brahms, Berg, Beethoven and more. Argerich takes the solo spotlight for Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major and joins a host of musicians for the Beethoven Fantasy in C Minor.