Martha Argerich was born in Buenos Aires and started to learn piano at the age of five with Vicente Scaramuzza. Being a child prodigy, she soon after started to play in public. In 1955, she travelled to Europe and continued her studies in London, Vienne and Switzerland with Seidlhofer, Gulda, Magaloff, Mrs. Lipatti and Stefan Askenase. In 1957, Martha Argerich won the Bolzano and Geneva piano competitions and in 1965 the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw. Since then, she has been one of the most outstanding pianists in the world thanks to her fame and professional skills.
Martha Argerich is highly appreciated for her interpretation of piano virtuoso scores from the 19th and 20th centuries. Her wide repertoire includes Bach and Bartok, Beethoven and Messiaen, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, Franck, Prokofiev, Stravinski, Shostakovich, Tchaikovski.
Although she is often invited by the most prestigious orchestras, conductors and music festivals in Europe, Japan and America, chamber music plays a major role in her musical life. She often performs and records with Nelson Freire, Alexandre Rabinovitch, Mischa Maisky, Gidon Kremer, Daniel Barenboim: “This harmony that comes about within a group of people, gives me a strong, peaceful feeling”.
Martha Argerich has worked with record labels like EMI, Sony, Philips, Teldec, DGG and many of her performances have been broadcast worldwide. She has received numerous awards, including a Grammy for her performance of Bartok and Prokofiev concertos, the Gramophon Artist of the Year award, and Best Piano Concerto Recording in the Year for her Chopin concertos, "Choc" del Monde de la Musique for her recitals in Amsterdam, Künstler des Jahres Deutscher Schallplatten Kritik, a Grammy for Prokofiev’s Cinderella with Mikhael Pletnev and also a Grammy for Beethoven’s concertos 2 and 3 with Munich Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Claudio Abbado, which were also acknowledged by Deutsche Gramophone as Best Solo Performer and The Sunday Times as Record of the Year. Her Shostakovich record, published by EMI in 2007 was awarded the BBC Music Magazine. Her most recent recordings include Mozart’s K466 and K503 concertos, recorded with Orchestra Mozart and Claudio Abbado and a duo recital with Daniel Barenboim launched by Deutsche Grammophon.
She has been artistic director of the Beppu Festival in Japan since 1998; in 1999 the Piano International Competition and the Festival Martha Argerich in Buenos Aires were set up and in June 2002, the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano.
Martha ARGERICH has received many distinctions:
– “Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres” in 1996 y “Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” in 2004 from the French Government
– “Accademica di Santa Cecilia” in Rome in 1997
– “Musician of the Year” from Musical America 2001
– “The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette” by the Japanese Emperor and the prestigious “Praemium Imperiale” from the Japan Art Association in 2005.
– “Kennedy Center Honors” from Barack Obama in December 2016