Mischa Maisky and Martha Argerich in Concert

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The duo of cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Martha Argerich is known for the virtuoso flair they bring to their performances. This recording from a 2003 Brussels concert is no exception. The way they tear into the wild second movement Allegro of the Shostakovich, with both artists rattling off its grotesqueries at warp speed, will have you at the edge of your chair. They're as admirable in the brooding Largo of that work and in conveying the rhapsodic Romanticism of the Prokofiev Sonata. At times they can seem self-indulgent, lingering over phrases in both of those Sonatas and teasing the lines in Stravinsky's Suite italienne, which the composer arranged for cello and piano from his Pulcinella ballet. But the flip side of that is the spontaneity that they achieve here, and even when pianissimos are taken down to the barely audible or diminuendos are exaggerated, the effects are too thrilling to complain about. Here's another must-have for their many fans. --Dan Davis

Amazon.com

The duo of cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Martha Argerich is known for the virtuoso flair they bring to their performances. This recording from a 2003 Brussels concert is no exception. The way they tear into the wild second movement Allegro of the Shostakovich, with both artists rattling off its grotesqueries at warp speed, will have you at the edge of your chair. They're as admirable in the brooding Largo of that work and in conveying the rhapsodic Romanticism of the Prokofiev Sonata. At times they can seem self-indulgent, lingering over phrases in both of those Sonatas and teasing the lines in Stravinsky's Suite italienne, which the composer arranged for cello and piano from his Pulcinella ballet. But the flip side of that is the spontaneity that they achieve here, and even when pianissimos are taken down to the barely audible or diminuendos are exaggerated, the effects are too thrilling to complain about. Here's another must-have for their many fans. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Easy listening.......2007-01-13

The music on this CD is easy to listen to. I sometimes put it in my Bose as the wake-up music.

Virtuoso Music, Virtuoso Performances.......2005-07-25

There are, as reviewers always say, other ways to play this music. But few other teams have captured the fire and ice of this very disparate music of three Russian masters. With Pulcinella, Stravinsky announced to the world his own brand of neoclassicism (which he had been working toward, certainly, through pieces such as the Octet). The "Suite Italien" drawn from Pulcinella and arranged for cello and piano by Stravinsky and cellist Gregor Piatigorsky has more edginess than the orchestral original, I find, and so seems even more Stravinskian.

With the Prokofiev, we hear one of the best examples of that master's compromise between his earlier spiky modernism and later more populist style. Here, without doubt, is one of the great pieces of 20th-century chamber music, with its warm and generous opening andante (punctuated by moments of dark drama), its jocose march-like second movement, and its riveting and headlong finale. Well, it's headlong in this performance anyway. Maybe Maisky and Argerich don't precisely adhere to Prokofiev's Allego ma non troppo marking, but the results are scintillating, virtuoso in the extreme.

For me, Shostakovich's Cello Sonata is on a lower artistic plane, though it certainly has its enticements: the grotesquery of the scherzo second movement is Shostakovich at his most interesting and haunting. I'm in a minority, I'm sure, but you can keep many of his long-winded and supposedly dramatic slow movements, including the Largo of this sonata. We're back on familiar ground, though, in the finale, and Maisky and Argerich's is as exciting a performance of this strange, beguiling music--like a glance ahead to the finale of the Ninth Symphony--as you're likely to hear.

DG's recording has all the benefits, none of the drawbacks of live recording. There is warm cello sound and full, rich piano tone without clangor. Plus the applause is separately banded, so you can listen or not as you wish; during the music (except for the encore, a waltz by Prokofiev) the audience is dead silent. Recommended without a single reservation.

Bravado Showmanship in an Exhilarating Concert.......2005-07-21

Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky - what a partnership! This is one of those live concert recordings that overcomes all technical blemishes and simply glows with superb playing. Recorded in a concert in 2003 in Belgium, these two superior musicians have a chemistry easily observed in concert and equally palpable on recordings. This is a must have CD for almost all music lovers.

Three works comprise this recital. The first piece in a transcription for cello and piano written by Stravinsky himself of portions of his ballet 'Pulchinella'. Argerich and Maisky dive right into the Italianate parody with zest and extraordinary facility of playing. Both the Prokofiev and Shostakovich Sonatas find each musician exploring the rich profundities of their individual instruments as well as the dashing eccentricities and joys of the piano and cello in tandem. The result is not only a dazzling musical conversation but also an expansion of the validity of each composer's work.

The playing is of the highest quality and the recorded sound is excellent: the ambience of the hall adds to the musical mixing. For shear joy of fine music perfectly played with soul and heart, this recital is no one to be passed over lightly! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, July 05

unique.......2005-05-07

It's like continuation of his Live in Japan, debussy, franck, and chopin... I met Mischa Maisky in Schlern Music Festival in Italy. I heard his third movement of Shostakovich sonata while he was giving a master class. In the small room, everybody dropped massive bitter sour tears. The room was filled with unexplainable charisma... It was so unforgetable scent of music that I had to buy this recording.

Average customer rating:

Excellent Music and Recording
This Uncultured Yahoo Loves It
Nice selection of Bach

Mad About Bach

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Inventions | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
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ASIN: B000001GKE
Release Date: 1993-07-13

Tracks:

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 In G Major: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 In G Major: Movement I
Oboe Concerto In D Minor: Oboe Concerto In D Minor - Adagio
Zion Hears The Watchmen Singing
Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor: Orchestral Suite No. 2 In B Minor - Badinerie
Orchestral Suite No. 3 In D Major: Orchestral Suite No. 3 In D Major - Air On A G String
Orchestral Suite No. 3 In D Major: Orchestral Suite No. 3 In D Major - Gavotte I - II
Concerto In D Minor For 2 Violins: Concerto In D Minor For 2 Violins - Largo ma non tanto
Suite In G Minor: Suite In G Minor - Bourree
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 In F Major: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 In F Major - Allegro assai
Concerto For Oboe And Violin In C Minor: Concerto For Oboe And Violin In C Minor - Adagio
Gavotte In E-Flat Major
Partita No. 3 In E Major: Partita No. 3 In E Major - Preludio
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 In G Major: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 In G Major - Presto
Sonata No. 1 In G Major: Sonata No. 1 In G Major - Adagio
Mass In B minor: Mass In B Minor - Et resurrexit
Two-Part Invention No. 8 In F Major
Italian Concerto In F Major: Italian Concerto In F Major - Allegro
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 In D Major: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 In D Major - Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Music and Recording.......2005-10-04

It is a better recording than other classical music CD's I've had, and is an impeccable execution of Bach's work. It led me to buy other "Mad About" series CD's of which I'll comment elsewhere. "Mad About Bach" is a fabulous CD of which I never tire. It is motivating. I have been listening to this "Mad About Bach" CD music for 8 years and still love it as one of my favorites.

This Uncultured Yahoo Loves It.......1999-12-13

I own and enjoy a good number of classical CD's but am far from an expert on what constitutes good and faithful performances. However, I can say that this CD is thoroughly enjoyable to me. My experience has been like lemur@earthling.net's, as many of these songs stay in my head, too, which is a great thing. A good bargain, too.

Nice selection of Bach.......1998-01-13

It's nice to hear a variety of pieces (guitar, harpsichord, etc) on one CD. Some of these tunes I can't get out of my head. :-) END

Music Review: