Martha Argerich was born in Buenos Aires in 1941. At 3, she played the
piano for the first time. Two years later, she began taking piano lessons
with Vicenzo Scaramuzza. At 8, she made her concert debut in Buenos
Aires, performing works by Mozart, Beethoven and Bach. She performed
in Buenos Aires' Astral and Colón theatres. In 1955, she moved
with her family of diplomats to Vienna in order to allow her to study
piano with outstanding teachers. She received tuition from Friedrich
Gulda, her principal mentor; her teachers also include Arturo Benedetti
Michelangeli, Nikita Magaloff and Stefan Askenase.
In 1957, at 16, Martha Argerich won both the Geneva International Music
and the Bolzano Competitions. She embarked on an intensive program of
concerts. At 21, she suffered from depression for two years. She moved
to New York and "didn't do anything". But, in 1965, she came
back to win the Chopin Competition in Warsaw and the Polish Radio Prize
for her performances of Chopin Waltzes and Mazurkas. Argerich credits
Stefan Askenase and his wife with helping to lift her out of her depression
and back into music. From 1969 to 1973, Argerich was married to conductor
Charles Dutoit, with whom she remains good friends.
Martha Argerich rose to fame with her interpretations of the virtuoso
piano literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. But her repertoire
ranges from Bach to Bartók. She is probably the only pianist
capable of setting her own conditions in the music market, recording
only what she wants and with different labels.
In the early 1980s, Argerich turned to chamber music which stresses
the interaction between musicians. She often performs with Nelson Freire,
Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich, Gidon Kremer and Mischa Maisky. Her appearances
in the concerto repertory became rare and her solo recitals even rarer.
She also gives young artists a helping hand. In September 1999, the
first International Martha Argerich Piano Competition took place in
Buenos Aires, with her as the jury's president. In November 1999, the
second Martha Argerich Music Festival took place in Japan, with concerts
and masterclasses being given by Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky and
Nelson Freire among others.
Martha Argerich's temper does not only show in her music, but also in
her private live. Married only once, with conductor Charles Dutoit,
she has three daughters, Lida, Annie and Stéphanie, from three
different men.
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