Martha Argerich, who celebrates her 70th birthday this summer, is regarded as one of the most virtuosic and passionate pianists of our time. Many of her interpretations are legendary and have, in the opinions of some critics, even surpassed her great idol's Vladimir Horowitz's. She has been recognised with the Praemium Imperiale, the 'Nobel Prize for the Arts' in 2005 and been the subject of a documentary film by Georges Gachot in 2002.
Born on 5 June 1941 in Buenos Aires, she received her first piano lessons aged 3. Argerich moved with her family to Europe in 1955 where she continued her studies with Friedrich Gulda in Vienna. Winning the 1st Prize at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, she became world-famous overnight. In recent years, Argerich reduced her appearances as recital soloist and focussed more on concertos and chamber music recitals with friends such as Nelson Freire, Gidon Kremer and Mischa Maisky.
Her famed 2005 Tokyo concert with music by Mozart is available on DVD from Opus Arte (http://www.opusarte.com/en/martha-argerich-plays-mozart-live-from-tokyo.html).
Other highlights from her recorded output include her legendary debut recital disc (http://www.opusarte.com/en/fryderyk-franciszek-chopin-1810-1849-martha-argerich-debut-recital-ec97.html) and recent Concerti (http://www.opusarte.com/en/martha-argerich-concerti.html) and Chamber Music collections (http://www.opusarte.com/en/martha-argerich-chamber.html).