Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Nutcracker Suite

Tchaikovsky's First Concerto has already appeared twice on disc from Martha Argerich in complementary performances: live and helterskelter on Philips with Kondrashin (reviewed under Rachmaninov),... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Release Date: 12th Aug 1996
Catalogue No: E4498162
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Length: 53 minutes

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Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23

Work length32:02

$3.30

$4.50

Martha Argerich (piano)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado
Recorded: 1994-12-10
Recording Venue: Grosser Saal, Berlin Philharmonie

I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso - Allegro con spirito

Track length19:14

$1.10

$1.50

II. Andantino semplice - Prestissimo - Tempo I

Track length6:30

$1.10

$1.50

III. Allegro con fuoco

Track length6:18

$1.10

$1.50

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a

Work length21:05

$8.80

$12.00

Martha Argerich (piano), Nicolas Economou (piano)
Recorded: 1983-03-05
Recording Venue: Residenz, Herkulessaal, Munich

I. Ouverture miniature: Allegro giusto

Track length3:14

$1.10

$1.50

IIa. Danses caractéristiques. Marche: Tempo di marcia viva

Track length2:16

$1.10

$1.50

IIb. Danses caractéristiques. Danse de la Fée Dragée: Andante non troppo

Track length2:01

$1.10

$1.50

IIc. Danses caractéristiques. Danse russe Trépak: Tempo di Trepak, molto vivace

Track length1:03

$1.10

$1.50

IId. Danses caractéristiques. Danse arabe: Allegretto

Track length3:04

$1.10

$1.50

IIe. Danses caractéristiques. Danse chinoise: Allegro moderato

Track length0:57

$1.10

$1.50

IIf. Danses caractéristiques. Danse des mirlitons: Moderato assai

Track length2:09

$1.10

$1.50

III. Valse des Fleurs: Tempo di valse

Track length6:21

$1.10

$1.50

Reviews
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Reviews

2010

Tchaikovsky's First Concerto has already appeared twice on disc from Martha Argerich in complementary performances: live and helterskelter on Philips with Kondrashin (reviewed under Rachmaninov), studio and magisterial with Dutoit on DG. Now, finely recorded, here's a third, live recording with the BPO and Claudio Abbado surpassing even those earlier and legendary performances. Argerich has never sounded on better terms with the piano, more virtuoso yet engagingly human. Lyrical and insinuating, to a degree her performance seems to be made of the tumultuous elements themselves, of fire and ice, rain and sunshine. The Russians may claim this concerto for themselves, but even they will surely listen in disbelief, awed and – dare one say it – a trifle piqued. Listen to Argerich's Allegro con spirito, as the concerto gets under way, where her darting crescendos and diminuendos make the triplet rhythm speak with the rarest vitality and caprice.
Her nervous reaching out towards further pianistic frays in the heart-easing second subject is pure Argerich and so are the octave storms in both the first and third movements that will have everyone, particularly her partners, tightening their seat belts. The cadenza is spun off with a hypnotic brilliance, the central Prestissimo from the Andantino becomes a true 'scherzo of fireflies', and the finale seems to dance off the page; a far cry from more emphatic Ukranian point-making and brutality.
For encores DG has reissued Argerich's 1983 performance of The Nutcracker where she's partnered by Nicolas Economou in his own arrangement, a marvel of scintillating pianistic prowess, imagination and finesse.

November 2008

Highly lyrical and jaw-dropping technically, her performance is gripping. Claudio Abbado conducts…

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Nutcracker Suite

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