Search - Mischa Maisky :: Maisky & Argerich Live in Japan

IMPOSSIBLE TO OVER-RATE!

Eytan Ipeker | 10/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I usually don't bother to write reviews for Amazon, but this time, my excitment is too big. If you ever get the chance to listen to this CD, you'll see that the moment it starts playing, the magic begins. Every single work in this album is played with a great precision and every single note makes sense. Maisky and Argerich are so in tune with one another...A wide range of expressive capacity in display...ideal recording quality... And the encore piece is so free-flowing, so well articualted, so improviastion-like, that it gives us the ideal Chopin sound. In any case. To hear Argerich play Chopin is a real delight,enough of a reason by itself. In this case, the entire album is a delight and the fact that total playing time is almost 80 minutes is a cause for celebration. Really beautiful.
Bravo!"

A flawless recording

Ben Brouwer | Minneapolis, MN USA | 06/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I find this recording to be one of the most convincing recordings of the Chopin sonata I have heard. While I might disagree with some strange placement of rubato on Maisky's part, it is too hard not to be impressed with Martha's ability to feel it with him. The ensemble succeeds at matching each other in every way, lending a unified and organic feeling that make it hard to believe at times that this is a *live* recording. The acoustic quality is also outsanding, although you may wish it were not so good when Maisky's loud breathing and foot-tapping get out of hand (particularly in the Debussy).Just when I was feeling that the earlier Argerich/Rostropovich recording of the Chopin was too sloppy and sonically out of balance, I picked up this recording and was amazed. Normally the 'cello ends up being overpowered by the piano, but not here. Due to the ensemble and the quality of recording, I would definitely consider this a "desert island disc.""

*** Making the sonatas sing

Zechristof | Antonito CO United States | 02/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Maisky and Argerich complement each other well, and the musicianship is simply stunning. Maisky is miked and mixed perfectly, with his full, passionate sound balanced with Argerich's piano. I love Argerich's recordings as concerto soloist, so I was curious to hear her in an accompanist role. This is not your father's accompanist! Vibrant, masterful, the perfect choice for these sonatas with their rich piano parts.



But the best thing about this recording is the joy of the music making. At times even playful, but always seriously committed to the score -- these are two of our most visionary and accomplished soloists delivering warmly knit performances. I wouldn't call Maisky an overwhelmingly masculine cellist, and Argerich wouldn't make my top ten for a feminine approach to the piano. But there is a complementarity in the music making that suggests the complementarity of gender -- not gender, but a complementarity of the same power, the same tension, and the same joy. Well, I guess you will just have to listen to the recording, because I cannot describe it any better."