The concert was wonderful!

First of all, the show was completely sold out and the audience was more engaged than you usually see at such a big event.

They started off with the Brahms Haydn Variations for 2 pianos. For those of you who only know the orchestral version of this piece, I encourage you to find a recording of this version. It has as much expressive depth as the orchestral version and the finale is more dramatic.

Then they did the Rachmaninov Suite #2 for 2 pianos. This is classic Rachmaninov, texturally rich. The Tarantella finale shook the hall!

Then they did Lutoslawski's Variations on a theme by Paganini (same one Liszt and Rachmaninov played with). Short and furious. Curiously, they swicthed pianos for this piece - Martha moved to the lidless one closer to the audience and Nelson moved to the rear piano.

Then they both moved to the rear piano and played a four hand piece by Shubert. Even taking into account that the piece was more delicate than the others on the program, the reduction in power by moving from two pianos to one was quite noticable.

Then came Ravel's La Valse - for this they were back to their original seating - Martha at the rear piano and Nelson on the close one. This is such a powerful piece and they did a fantastic job on it. Like most Ravel, this piece seems to contain much creative detail - you really need to listen to it dozens of time or study the score to fully appreciate his genius.

That was the end of the published program, but they did a couple of encores including another Ravel - Ma Mere l'Oye for four hands (not the whole thing, just III, i think).

The pianos were both Steinway Ds. I assume they were New York, not Hamburg, but I couldn't tell from where I was sitting - the LAST row in the balcony! Oh well - I was lucky to get seats.

Anyway, I think this pair is playing the same program in various cities - do catch it if you get a chance.

This is something very similar to what the two of them did on the DVD "Argerich and Friends".

Thanks for the review, Jon. Sounds like you really enjoyed it.

I'd take the last row in the balcony too!

Roberta

jon-nyc, Preston and I were in the balcony, row P, seats 3 and 5. Were you in seats 9 and 11 by any chance? I saw someone who I thought might be yourself but I didn't dare say anything! Ha! Wouldn't it be funny if that was you!

The concert was the best! The finest music making that exists. The 2 pianists, 2 pianos, and Carnegie's stage and hall made for one gigantic, beautiful music box.

The playing was superb. I adore Martha's technique and felt very inspired watching her.

The Ravel (La Valse) was my favorite, followed by the Rachmaninoff.

They played 5 encores, unfortunately I only knew the name of one of them ("Dance of the Sugar Plum Faerie" from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker).

It was a perfect[/b] concert.

Bernard! That was me - did you see my comment in the 'message for plays" thread in the CR? I didn't see your post there until today, otherwise I would have known that the guy with the opera glasses in row P was you!

The first encore was also Ravel - Ma Mere l'Oye, mvmt III I believe. Theres a transcription for one piano (not by Ravel) which I have.

Its a shame we didn't connect - we could have compared notes on that Sonatine 3rd mvmt. Oh well, hopefully I'll see you at Grotrimans a week from Sunday and here at my place on the 15th of May.


Rachel and I left after the 2nd encore - I thought for sure it was over! Darnit!

Thanks Jon and Bernard for the reviews...I'm so excited now! I'll be hearing them here in San Francisco on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. I bought tickets months ago when the hall announced its program lineup for the season. I thought, Argerich and Friere, two piano literature, WOW!

I have a couple of recordings of Argerich and I think Rabinovich doing some of these pieces, and I saw at Tower Records the other day that Argerich and Friere released a CD in 2001 with the Rachmaninoff. I've wanted to hear both these artists for so long, but to get them together... :3hearts:

It's also similar to the second half of Argerich's 'solo' concert at Carnegie, a while back.

To say that the atmosphere was electric is an understatement.

And yes, encores were abundant - in fact we in the audience didn't want to leave...

AHHHHHH! How I envy all of you that were able to hear and see this performance! I can only imagine how wonderful the evening was. Martha is amazing! (if she doesnt cancel the last moment before a performance.)
I saw her perform in 1965 and it was one of MANY sacred musical moments of my life. Such passion and remarkable abilities to give flight to music written for piano. Her recordings are always my favorites. Cherish these moments!

I'm reviving this thread because I heard Argerich and Freire last night here in San Francisco (at Davies Symphony Hall). I thought I had orchestra seats, but in fact I had bought seats in the First Tier left, which gave me a clear view of the 1st piano keyboard throughout the performance. Argerich performed at the 1st piano except for the Lutoslawski, when she and Freire traded places.

Thanks to this sterling seating, I was able to observe Argerich's technique in detail. I must say it is flawless. I don't recall ever seeing a pianist so fluid, poised, graceful, agile, dynamic, and RELAXED at the keyboard. She does everything right. Watching her one quickly becomes conscious of the absence of wasted movement and the absence of tension. Energy is conserved, the equipment is constantly being refreshed, the wrist is supple, the shoulders are never raised, the entire arm is fully engaged. She is a case study for great technique. It was truly awe inspiring to watch.

Freire is no slouch, but like so many pianists of this caliber whom I have seen, when the going gets tough (fast ff repeated chords, fast repeated octave jumps, that sort of thing), he looks like he's working very hard. Not so Argerich. It's not that she makes it look easy; it all still looks impossible. But whatever she does, it never looks like hard work. It just looks, well, natural.

Jon described the program in detail above in the initial post to this thread, so I won't belabor the details. The Rachmaninoff, Lutoslawski, and Ravel are major virtuoso pieces, and the Brahms isn't far behind. Being most familiar with the Brahms and Ravel in their orchestrated forms, it's very interesting to see how these composers translated it all to two pianos. I thought the Brahms was stunning, and the duo made ample but always tasteful use of rubato throughout.

The Lutaslawski is short but fiendish in difficulty and mood. The Ravel is daemonic, a waltz gone completely haywire, from the disturbing opening sotto voce in the bass to the vertiginous climax at the end. It's like some wild Great America ride on steroids.

The Schubert is so completely charming. It is always wonderful to hear that particular voice which is Schubert. It never fails to touch the heart. The rondo form is a natural for Schubert's melodic inventiveness, and the initial melody is so endearing and developed so thoroughly that one never gets tired of hearing it come back again and again -- it's always the welcome return of a dear friend.

As you can see, I liked the performance! :3hearts: It was thrilling beyond measure.

Thanks for the post Aaron - you're lucky to have been so close! WHile I could hear fine, the only thing I could see was that Martha had black hair.

We were in the second row at Davies and had an even closer view. The two of them are kind of cute on stage, sort of like an old married couple. My date was one of the most knowledgeable pianists in SF, but I'm not talking about him because I don't want anyone to know I've got him...

What were the last two encores - sounded like those little South American waltzes...Barrios???

What was the Schubert piece?

Interesting to note that Martha moved to the 2nd piano for the Lutoslwaski, she obviously wanted a break and Nelson wanted to get a chance to do the primo too. You see, even though it is so well written that most people can't tell, the first piano of the Lutoslawski is much more difficult than the second piano. This is because Lutoslawski performed this himself with a friend of his who, it seems, lacked chops.

Thanks for the review. What I would have done to have been there!

Elena
http://www.pianofourhands.com

The Schubert piece was the Grand Rondo in A - D. 951 for piano/four hands "an effusion of the composer's final months, modeled, some say, on the second movement of Beethoven's Op. 90 Sonata, endlessly fecund material with a sense of discovery in every bar. Friere etched trills of uncommon delicacy while Argerich conjured unsettling harmonies - more a conversation than a performance..."

The encores were, again - Laideronette - plus Rocky's Waltz Op. 11, #4, and the Il Bailecito by Argentinian composer Carlos Guastavino.