Martha Argerich has few peers in this repertoire today, and in terms of sheer spontaneity in performance she’s simply in a class of her own. Chopin’s concertos are early works, and they always have taken their share of abuse owing to the composer’s somewhat clunky orchestration. Of course, no one ever has had anything to say against the piano part, which is marvelous and which dominates the proceedings to the point where the orchestra is pretty irrelevant anyway. What makes these performances so special is that Dutoit not only stays in the background, where he belongs, but actually manages to offer the kind of intimate support that allows Argerich to literally do whatever she wants. The result in both concertos is an extraordinary degree of fantasy, as if the music were being composed on the spot. This improvisational quality is most noteworthy in the slow movements, which are breathtakingly beautiful. There is, however, one fly in the ointment: EMI’s recording of the piano is a little “off”–the upper range in particular has an unwelcome degree of clatter. It’s not a huge problem, but it does preclude a “10” recommendation in the sound department, and performances of this quality really deserve nothing but the best from their label. Still, for the music alone, this is a must.
