Martha Argerich

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Martha Argerich began her first piano lessons at the age of five with Vincenzo Scaramuzza. Considered a child prodigy, she quickly began giving regular concerts and recitals. In 1955, she moved to Europe and continued her studies in London, Vienna, and Switzerland with Bruno Seidlhofer, Friedrich Gulda, Nikita Magaloff, Dinu Lipatti, and Stefan Askenase. In 1957, she won both the Bolzano Piano Competition and the Geneva Piano Competition, and then, in 1965, the International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Since then, she has been regarded as one of the most prominent pianists in the world, both for her talent and her popularity.

Although her temperament has often drawn her to the great virtuoso works of the 19th and 20th centuries, Martha Argerich maintains a vast repertoire, including works by Bach, Bartók, Beethoven, and Messiaen, as well as those by Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Franck, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky.

Regularly invited by the most prestigious orchestras, conductors, and music festivals in Europe, Japan, and America, chamber music holds an essential place in her musical life. Her current and past chamber music partners include Mischa Maisky, Alexandre Rabinovitch, Gidon Kremer, Stephen Kovacevich, Ivry Gitlis, Nelson Goerner, Renaud Capuçon, Lahav Shani, Janine Jansen, and Daniel Barenboim. She performed and recorded with Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire for over 50 years.

In recent seasons, Martha Argerich has continued her long-standing and fruitful collaborations with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Lahav Shani, and Tugan Sokhiev, as well as with major orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic, the Hamburg Symphony, the Orchestra della Scala di Milano, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the Orchestre de Paris.

Martha Argerich has recorded for EMI, Sony, Philips, Teldec, and DGG, and many of her performances have been broadcast on television worldwide. She has also received numerous prestigious awards, including a Grammy for her recording of Bartók's and Prokofiev's Concertos, the titles of "Gramophone – Artist of the Year" and "Best Piano Concerto Recording of the Year" for her recording of Chopin's concertos, a "Choc" from Le Monde de la Musique, the "Künstler des Jahres" (Artist of the Year) award from the German Record Critics' Award (Deutscher Schallplatten Kritik), as well as other Grammy Awards for her recording of Prokofiev's Cinderella with Mikhail Pletnev, and for Beethoven's Second and Third Concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Claudio Abbado (DGG / Best Instrumental Soloist Performance).

Committed to helping young musicians, Martha Argerich became artistic director of the Beppu Festival in Japan in 1998. In 1999, she founded the Martha Argerich International Piano Competition and Festival in Buenos Aires, and then, in June 2002, the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano. In 2018, she launched the Martha Argerich Festival in Hamburg.

Martha Argerich has received numerous distinctions, including:
– "Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters" in 1996, "Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters" in 2004, and "Commander of the Legion of Honor" in 2023, awarded by the French government,
– "Accademica di Santa Cecilia" in Rome in 1997,
– "Musician of the Year" by Musical America in 2001,
– The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, awarded by the Emperor of Japan,
– The "Praemium Imperiale", awarded by the Japan Art Association in 2005,
– The "Kennedy Center Honors", awarded by Barack Obama in December 2016,
– "Commendatore dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" (Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic), awarded by Sergio Mattarella in October 2018.

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