It doesn't speak well of
Warner Classics
that this album was released in 2025 with little information as to what it contained. Listeners might easily be left with the impression that
Martha Argerich
, 83 in that year, was scampering through the likes of "Scarbo" from
Gaspard de la Nuit
. In fact, a bit of digging, for which listeners are left on their own, reveals that these are apparently tracks from the recordings made with
Argerich
at her final festival in Lugano, Switzerland, in 2016. This said, playing "Scarbo" cleanly and forcefully in her seventies is plenty impressive, and there are other nuggets here for listeners not eager for the large sets of
's festival appearances of those years. Consider the fine collaborators
lined up, especially
Sergio Tiempo
in the album-ending two-piano version of
La Valse
that provides a slam-bang conclusion. This performance shows no signs of being a festival quickie and shows tight work between the pair.
's performance of the
Sonatine
shows her at her best; she is graceful and as attentive as ever to small detail. This release may be of most interest to
fans, but the material was reasonably well recorded in the first place and should continue to attract those who routinely acquire her music. ~ James Manheim