Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Thursday I have a date with Martha Argerich

My seat is against the back wall up in the sky, but at least I'll see her as a dot of flying arms and hair.


Charles Dutoit conducts the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra.

Program:
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

About the concert: http://wdch.laphil.com/tix/performance_detail.cfm?id=3080


About Martha Argerich:
http://wdch.laphil.com/about/performer_det...laphil%2Ecom%2F


About Charles Dutoit:
http://wdch.laphil.com/about/performer_det...laphil%2Ecom%2F

That is nothing! Yesterday I had a date with Venus!

She's a cheaper date in LA than she is in Chicago - lowest ticket price here is $60 - same program.

As I said in the other thread, I'm as jealous as can be because I can't attend. Please post a review of the concert so I can experience it vicariously (and take some binoculars ).

Yes, and that's why I'm ignoring this thread... :t:

I have a date with her next week.

Does Martha know about all these dates?

Cheers!

Never met Agerich, but my wife use to meet Horowitz routinely in the 80's in NYC.
Honest to G-d story: While running errands with kids in tow (a four year old in hand and twins in the stroller) in the Carnegie Hill area she used to run into this very pleasant avuncular gentleman. The chance meetings became more frequent and often times he would carry her groceries or wheel the stroller, or grasp the hand of the older one. Apparently they talked about everything & nothing along Madison Avenue.
We moved to Jersey and she lost track of him. One day while watching a show dedicated to Mike Wallace’s all-time favorite interviews on 60 minutes she exclaimed that the fellow playing the Stars & Stripes Forever was her long-lost friend. By this time he had passed away.
We always wondered if he took a curious interest in her and the kids because she did not recognize him, did not fawn over him but rather treated him as a kindly neighborhood gentleman.

You used to live near Madison/57th and you left for NJ

Actually my wife would meet him regularly at the Citibank branch at 92nd & Madison, and they would walk on Madison doing errands. I heard that he lived near 57th but can't explain why he was found so frequently uptown. Maybe it had to do with the proximity to Mt Sinai and doctor's row along Park & Fifth? Anyway, don't really know.

She would tell me about him at supper and but it was just dinner conversation, (And what did you do today?...) When she saw his face and hands on TV she let out a yelp.

Yeah, finished the 8 years of residency/fellowship training at Mt Sinai and it was time to move out of house staff housing. By that time, with the kids, we were outgrowing the apartment and it was time to buy our first home. Got first job in Jersey & bought a home in Teaneck.

After a few years in the Garden State we realized that New York is for the very young or wealthy, and at a certain point we were neither. Was hardly going into the city anymore but had a New York City cost of living. It was time to move back to the Midwest for a better standard of living.

Bruce:
Does Martha know about all these dates?

Perhaps she does. That's maybe why she asked one of her ex-husbands to come along and act as chaperone... and then thought he might as well do some conducting to stop him getting too bored

-Michael B.

I ran into Horowitz on Second Avenue back in 1989, I think. Story recounted here.

I guess I'll try to get tickets for Argerich next week.

I once had a date with Lili Krauss. (as in dinner date... )

Should have offered him a lick off the cone, or at least treated the Mr & Mrs to a smoothie at the nearest Papaya King.

Just the two of you? Tell us more... or is this "PM" material?

I'm with Jason - don't leave us hanging like that!

Heh heh...

I've had dinner dates with presidents, ambassadors, and movie stars - but this was one of the most extraordinary events of my life...

I was out of state visiting family, and was invited to a friend's home in the neigboring city. To my surprise, Lili Kraus was the other invited guest!

I was to perform several of the Transcendental Etudes that week, so before dinner she spent nearly the whole time coaching me - I was flabbergasted, to say the least.

I'm sure folks might think Lili Kraus and Liszt a rather incongruous pair. Not in the least! Her supreme musicianship came to the fore, and is what I remember to this day.

I had my choice of a number of exquisite pianos (my friend is quite fortunate indeed!) so I played the Bösendorfer Imperial. Of course!

Afteward the three of us enjoyed home-made goulash and Tokaji wine. We talked of our Hungarian heritage, and I was thoroughly entertained by fascinating stories for the remainder of the evening.

As they say: "believe it or not!"

SOLD OUT!

Maybe there is hope for Los Angeles, culturally.

Don't cry.
There's hope.

Los Angeles just is the first of 9 cities on her tour of this program:

Nov 8 - 8:00 pm Los Angeles, Calif
Nov 11 - 8:00 pm Houston, Texas
Nov 13 - 8:00 pm Chicago, IL
Nov 15 - 8:00 pm New York - Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center
Nov 16 - 8:00 pm New York - Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center
Nov 19 Genoa, Italy - Teatro Carlo Felice
Nov 20 - 7:30 pm Stockholm, Sweden - Konserthuset
Nov 22 - 8:00 pm Zurich, Switzerland - Tonhalle Zurich Grosser Saal
Nov 23 - 8:30 pm Lyon, France - Opéra
Nov 24 - 8:00 pm Düsseldorf, Germany

I've heard her play twice. The first time she performed the Prokoviev 1st and 3rd concertos. The second time was her incredibly rare solo performance(second half of the program was with Friere)at Carnegie Hall.

She is the most electrifying(I don't mean the best although she is a very great pianist IMHO) pianist performing today.

He home, abrownstone, was in the 90's between Fifth and Madison. I think he emight have moved out of the house at one point so maybe he took up temporary residence near 57th Street.