MARTHA ARGERICH - Martha Argerich Edition : Concertos (2011) 4CD / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Martha Argerich Edition: Concertos is one of several box sets issued in 2011 in honor of her 70th birthday. These four discs gather ten complete concertos recorded between 1997 and 2009 for EMI. As an artist as well-known for her loyalty to particular repertoire and particular musicians, most of these works have been recorded by Argerich multiple times. Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3, one of the first concertos she ever recorded, is here in a 1997 performance with conductor Charles Dutoit, one of her best collaborators. The two recorded both Chopin concertos the following year, also included here. Others of Argerich's most frequent collaborators are found on Beethoven's Triple Concerto: Renaud Capuçon, Mischa Maisky, and Alexandre Rabinovitch. The recordings of fellow pianist Mikhail Pletnev's Fantasia elvetica and of Falla's Noches en los jardines de España come from her Lugano Festival, an annual event founded in 2002 where Argerich gathers friends -- her familiar collaborators and new, promising, young musicians -- for music-making. The collection unfortunately does not include Ravel's Concerto in G, the other concerto typically noted as one of Argerich's best interpretations. Yet, it should very well satisfy those who want to get to know Argerich's work in the concerto repertoire as a mature musician at the height of her talent. by Patsy Morita