At the Verbier Festival in 2007, Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich explored the music of Bartók in two evening recitals. Her rhythmically-driven performances bore witness to the talents she typically displays in her celebrated interpretations of the works of Prokofiev and Ravel.
In the first evening, Argerich was joined by her longstanding musical collaborator, Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, and the excellent percussionists Gregory Zuber and Michael Israelievitch. Together they carried the audience away with their captivating performance of Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, a work so fresh that it seems like it was just written yesterday.
A few days later, Argerich and violinist Renaud Capuçon took on Bartók’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, presenting a fiery interpretation of this tricky and exquisite œuvre.