These wonderful live recordings made at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, are vintage Argerich. In Mozart’s Concerto No. 25 (recorded in 1978 in very decent sound), she combines monumentality and spontaneity, attentive dialog with the orchestra and exhilarating pianistic virtuosity. While her rhythmic exuberance makes every phrase bounce naturally to the next, Argerich also gives to the melodies plenty of relief–light years away from the cuteness to which too many pianists succumb in this music. The Andante is sung full throat, with unusually intense lyricism. Whereas her teacher Friedrich Gulda (DG, with Abbado) finds marvelous, Magic Flute-like carillon sonorities in the final Allegretto, the Argentinean pianist plays with extraordinary aplomb and fascinating pre-romantic feeling. Szymon Goldberg reveals himself an excellent partner for the ebullient soloist, conducting the valiant Netherlands Chamber Orchestra with a perfect blend of verve and finesse. Recorded 14 years later, Beethoven’s First concerto isn’t as successful, partly because the exaggeratedly spacious recording drowns many details in resonance. Heinz Wallberg manages to follow Argerich in the super-fast finale–and that’s already an adventure. But his classically controlled conducting doesn’t match Argerich’s imagination as well as Goldberg’s sensitive musicianship does in Mozart. Too often, the performance sounds like a piano solo with orchestral accompaniment, not like a real concerto. But what a piano solo! Breathtaking beauty of tone, winged virtuosity, sense of humor, and dramatic urge: Argerich has it all. Now if only Teldec could convince her and Harnoncourt to record the Beethoven concertos cycle they were committed to do… [Editor’s Note: This disc is also now available from the Musical Heritage Society, Catalog No. 516002H.]
