Martha Argerich Performs Beethoven and Ravel

Chronique

Martha Argerich, the ageless Argentine, was approaching her 80th birthday when these live recordings were made in Israel in 2019, but it is hard to hear any diminution of her powers. Israel Philharmonic conductor Lahav Shani pushes her with quick tempos in the passagework of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19, and she interacts with him very closely here and in the first movement of the Ravel Piano Concerto in G major, where the blues aspect is deemphasized in favor of keeping things moving. Really, despite the presence of the star Argerich, this is Shani's concert. By 2023, when this album was released, Shani was preparing to take the reins at the Munich Philharmonic and was generally accounted as one of the hottest young conductors on the scene. Those following his career may find this release useful in terms of understanding how he began to get people's attention in the first place. His readings are original. The Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 in his hands is quite original, avoiding Haydn's playfulness in favor of a drive and edge that points directly toward the middle-period Beethoven. The central movement of the Ravel is unusually contemplative, and the finale seems exuberant when it arrives. The live recording from the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv is reasonably clear, and there is a certain electricity to the results; vigorous applause is retained at the end. An intriguing document from Argerich's late career and Shani's early one.

© James Manheim /TiVo