Benefit Concert in Berlin

At the end of May, members of the Berliner Philharmoniker will join forces with cellists Mischa Maisky, Jing Zhao, pianist Itamar Golan and Martha Argerich to play two benefit concerts for the FTV Junior Orchestra of Japan.

Itamar Golan and Argerich will perform four-hand piano works by Mozart and Schubert, and  Guy Braunstein and Daishin Kashimoto, two of the four concertmasters of the Berlin Philharmonic, along with the orchestra's new principal violist Amihai Grosz, will play works by Shostakovich, Dvorak and Schumann.  

Concerts July/August 2011

Salle des Combins, Verbier

Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Royal Albert Hall, London

Konzerthaus, Dortmund

July and August sees Argerich in four European countries; Germany, England, Switzerland and Scotland. First up is a concert at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr on 14 July, where she will perform with Lilya Zilberstein. Then she will jet off to Verbier for a concert on July 22. And in August she will perform with Nelson Goerner at the Edinburgh Festival.

Upcoming 70th birthday CD releases

In celebration of Martha Argerich's 70th birthday, EMI and Universal Music are planning a few new releases later in May.

From EMI Classics there will be a 3-box collection entitled 'Martha Argerich Edition', comprising of all her recordings for EMI (without the Lugano recordings) in solo and piano duo works, concertos and chamber music, as well as a 3-CD compilation called 'The Sound of Martha Argerich'.

Concert for Japan in Paris

Argerich will perform in a benefit concert for the victims of the recent natural disaster in Japan at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. Other performers who have donated their services include Khatia Buniatishvili, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Natalie Dessay, Nelson Freire, Itamar Golan, Sylvie Guillem, Sayaka Shoji, Rolando Villazón and Lambert Wilson.

For more info, please click here

Los Angeles Concerts Cancelled

I'm sad to report that our friends in America are not having much luck with Argerich this year. After the cancellation of her concert at Carnegie Hall with Seiji Ozawa, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has now announced cancellation of her concerts with Gustavo Dudamel this month. She will be replaced by Jeremy Denk (a wonderful pianist and chamber musician in his own right). According to the orchestra's announcement, the cancellation is due to back problems.

Argerich in Verbier

The official programme for this year's Verbier Festival was been unveiled this morning! In what promises to be an even more eclectic season than in previous editions, Argerich performs two concerts in July.

On 22 July, she teams up with regular partners Yuri Bashmet, the Capuçon bros and Nelson Goerner for an evening of chamber music by Schumann, Rachmaninov and Ravel. And on 26 July she will perform in a concert entitled 'Verbier Festival Celebrates', in which some of the works to be performed have now been announced. A star-studded lineup of artists, including Evgeny Kissin, Joshua Bell, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Ivry Gitlis, Vadim Repin, Thomas Quasthoff and Mischa Maisky, will perform chamber music works by Brahms, Shostakovich, Kreisler, Schumann among others. The complete programme for the concert will be nearer to the start of the festival, and will no doubt contain a few surprises!

Breaking news: Ozawa concerts cancelled!

The forthcoming concerts of Seiji Ozawa and his Ongaku-Juku Orchestra of Japan have been cancelled, following surgery for a back condition that was more extensive than previously thought. Ozawa has cancelled all concerts until August this year, which means the Argerich appearances in America and Europe are also no longer taking place.
We wish Maestro Ozawa a speedy recovery!

Upcoming EMI CD release: Live from Lugano 2010

In March EMI will release highlights from the 2010 edition of Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano. Although it hasn't been released yet, I've managed to find out more about it and here's a sneak peek into the set.

Klavierfestival Ruhr 2010 Arte Broadcast

© KFR/Mark Wohlrab

The French-German arts channel Arte will broadcast part of last year's Klavierfestival Ruhr concert in which Argerich performed Schumann with friends including cellist Mischa Maisky. It will be broadcast at 7pm on 30 January featuring the works she performed with Maisky; Adagio and Allegro, op. 70, and the Piano Quintet, op. 44. 

Click here for more information (in French) or here (in German)

Renaud Capuçon, Gabrielle Shek, Lyda Chen, Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky

Concerts April 2011

Following their Carnegie Hall appearance, the Ongaku-Juku Orchestra of Seiji Ozawa will make two appearances in Europe in April with the same forces. Argerich returns to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, and then it's off to Vienna's Golden Hall at the Musikverein. The programme remains identical to the New York performance.