Martha Argerich at the Chopin International competition

[1Thompsonmusic]

I am starting to see the genius and tragedy of this tortured soul of a woman.

[1Thompsonmusic]

class-less pianist. That's why I suppose she appeals to many different walks of life.

[joelwagnerpiano]

this doesnt look like the polish stage that i see everyone else play on. anyone know?

[konstantinoupianist]

A pity it's almost a semitone high..



[izzyjamm4]

2:25. You'll thank me later...

[Achille92190]

No, now There is Lang Lang

[DanielM647]

She is the best alive. Bravoooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­ooooooooooooooooooooo Martha.

[anirudh1998able]

8 idiots I must say

[mightbeawannabe]

piano0b It's only 8'11½" or 274 cm. Just your average every day Steinway D.

[piano0b]

wtf how long is this piano? o_0

[flakemike]

Now, this is a real pianist at god's level with yundi or other masters. Bravo!

[Mintcubes]

She's very beautiful.

[Dogaradodia]

Certified Intergalactic! The Argerich Constellation!

[etiam161036]

Merci pour ce cadeau...

[KeilorK]

I'm not saying anything new, but that is the most incredible natural technique EVER!

[morrissixty]

Meravigliosa.

[Josedono]

That woman must tire of accolades. An extraordinary human being. 

[MrGranada71]

Thank you.

[caskett7lu]

when was this recorded?

[TREDEGARtom3]

My sister represented Britain in this competition

[utubuser10]

@TREDEGARtom3 is that right!? how did she do? did she make it to finals? what was her impression of the great argerich at the time?

[forgottenbooks]

I can't believe how even that last run down the keyboard was, considering she used both hands.

[debussyfreak]

I don't mean to be brag-y or anything, but, I feel very lucky. My piano teacher is one of Martha's good friends. Whenever Martha comes to New York, my teacher takes me to see her and we go back stage at the end of the performence. I have met Martha many times and I must say, each time speaking to her leaves me speechless. She is absolutly the greatest in the world. Shes a genius. She also speaks like eight languages. It's really cool.

[mmoynan]

@debussyfreak Very lucky! I have met her once. If you can call it that. It was was more "can I have your autograph" and "yes I'd be happy to spell my name out like 3 times". :D What was your experience like?

[Piyanistcan5]

So good =)

[patarthenry]

Perfection personified here the Spirit of Chopin breathes over the piano in glistening arcades of sparkling tones!

[vkoracx]

hmmm

[HJKey]

The greatest pianist ever seen is Argentinian, and her name is Martha Argerich...so proud of her.

[kaisi]

Gee, "worship" her.. :p

[theghostofroddyframe]

She also wrote 'Black Magic Woman' you know...

[heresiarcas]

Martha con vos me caso

[Buraion]

she's an inspiration

[mycatsapunk]

Bravo. Beautiful.

[MrCapacitors]

Great.

[niko87878787]

Increible, sin palabras... y q casi ningun argentino la conosca, me molesta mucho...

[astordelaguila]

@jorpianist Man.....you are a fucking idiot

[danilokb]

Uau ... she was totally beautiful. O.O

[nebula180]

brosta!!

[OriginalBasaliskos]

I love this scherzo

[Gregory98]

She was hot!

[hohohee1]

@Gregory98 WAS emphasis on WAS plz !!

[thesu]

Geez, it looks like she can play this in her sleep.

[matzuz]

na jesień jak znalazł :)

[foodiste]

beyond brilliant. Chopin would be so proud of this. Her interpretation is spectacularly good.

[The55555SSSSS]

5 people were blind.They didn't see the LIKE button!

[LOMSam1]

What a performance! I love the way she plays with such power and strength and yet her runs up and down the piano are so seamless and fluid- like a cascade of water...

[freeqwerqwer]

What a master of a composition. I guess when a piece is played really well, one can see the genius of the composition.

[GothicalSOberhauser]

ADORE HER HANDS. I also adore the contrasts in her playing. Gosh, What do I not love about her? :D

[elbohemio21]

Hay en verdad mujeres impresionantes. Me pregunto cual será la historia de su vida que la llevo a siempre luchar por la excelencia??? Que secretos guardará su memoria de argentina expatriada???

[guaniamo]

She`s universal. She's a talent that belongs to the whole world, beyond American borders. I watched a documentary about her life some days ago, and I can only say that she's already inmortal, she's not only vistuosism, she has the trascendence of a genius, and the spirit of an artist, BRAVO MAESTRA

[TheBeerNut1]

@jorpianist : pues me cago !!!  LOL

[TheBeerNut1]

@jorpianist : You wrote in your post " I want fuck her" and I responded "go f**k yourself". And now you respond with some kind of gibberish directed at me. Nobody wants to know nor needs to know that you "want fuck her". Besides, it's not very professional of you to direct your feelings on youtube towards a world-class female pianist since you yourself seem to be a pianist .

[TheBeerNut1]

@jorpianist : Go f**k yourself, ok

[MediaFilter]

Just.... Wow.

[richiewato]

I saw her play in Hamburg in 2008 and she still blew me away! Incredible musician.

[alfarhaneh]

those fingers! look! such grace, such power -utterly mesmerizing- divine!

[cimbalok]

Until I heard this recording I would have given Artur Rubinstein the highest mark on this Scherzo. She's precise & accurate. The octaves are superb. She doesn't overdo the pedal. This is Chopin the way I love to hear him.

[PENNSY671E]

Musicianship & power together.. What a gift. And so young ! I am totally awed.

[Dogaradodia]

Certified Intergalactic!

[fillXinXblankXstares]

She makes it look simple!

[1992SFA]

I'm a jazz musician and, regardless of that, I can tell you that this is brilliant!

[4785689]

and the last note?????????????????????'

[1992SFA]

@4785689 oh big deal

[agnespianist]

cudo.

[FuzzedRMI]

I cannot say that I have ever heard a better pianist in my life. Effortless fluidity of line, passion, fire, accuracy...she has it all, and her technique is so advanced that she can just allow the art of the music to flow through her. Martha, if you read this, so many love you; you are a gift from God.

[kh495]

Not only is she talented, she's gorgeous.

[Patrik87715]

Bravo, Martha! You're so good!

[zackyko]

these talented and incredible gifted individuals are so great that they are mesmerized by some kind of an outside super power elements...great and so bless with talent!!!!

[1florenzo]

Im waiting in line also......

[kearnj]

@daytonmlivingston it's all about practice, practice, practice.

[daytonmlivingston]

How would you every know what notes your hitting at such speeds?!!

[WhatLocoCoco]

@daytonmlivingston u play piano??

your fingers learn to just fall to them naturally.

like they have their own little minds and theyve memorized all the keys on the keyboard.

you dont even have to look at the keyboard, your fingers just learn.

[daytonmlivingston]

Yes, i do play piano...I compose most generally more than play. I understand wht you're saying though.. But I'm just now getting into the Chopin waltzes sooo.

[WhatLocoCoco]

Oh oops.

By your comment you seemed like some listener more than a player. But you compose.... and play..... and thats like the next level. So sorry i didnt know.

[MrMincer]

@daytonmlivingston

automatism after repeating alot after learning how to play it slow :)

[peteklat]

Piano playing of the VERY highest calibre, then and now.

Brava, Marta, and thank you.

[agjensen78]

Demi Moore anyone???

[melisurf]

Marha, por favor casate contigo, en ingles, Marhta would you pleasea marry me....

[malma1]

What a fresh and beautiful piece!

Originality & new combinations.

"Only Connect"

[cheongyoonghung]

A real master is always be the master, although she is old now but her piano's skill is maintain as good as well.

Worship to you!

[thepianomaniac]

She is wonderful! Makes it look so easy!

[celticears]

She was stunning then; she is stunning now. Thank you so much for the upload!

[ozgurunaldi]

This interpratation is breathtaking! Thank you for uploading! Martha Argerich is one of the few pianists that I never doubt about the prodigy. It is unbelievable that she still plays so energetic and alive like her youth. I believe that she will always be young...

[Anth4444444]

Wow. She's really young here.

mm

[buddydog1956]

No doubt bach then, she was definitely a "Babe" !!!

and she played pretty damn well too!!!

[Memale2009]

Mein Gott, was schreiben die Leute hier eigentlich für eine gequirlte Scheiße. Haltet Ihr das etwa für musikalisch gebildet? Peinlich!

[FrenchLanguage]

ARGENTINATANGO1, I never heard her speak spanish, but I have heard her speak FRENCH FLUENTLY.

;)

[FrenchLanguage]

ARGENTINATANGO1, Guess what? She DID refer to something in Spanish. Her last name is not Spanish, either because that's her stage name, or she's not married to anyone Spanish. So maybe she is Argentinian. I'll have to Google it.

It's no big deal. She can really play piano very well.

Adios!

;)

[helenagothicangel13]

Seeing from these comments, FrenchLanguage seems the kind of person who lives behind his computer in his basement and doesn't realize it is possible that normal people meet famous ones all the time. Alfred Brendel, yes, him, was a sort of third grandfather to me throughout my childhood, and André Laplante is coming over for dinner on Saturday. Just to give you an example.

Et j'aimerai te voir parler in tutte le lingue che dici che conosci...

[Luishurikkk]

Ummmm indiscutiblemente el Francés es más difícil que el italiano......

[helenagothicangel13]

De que estas hablando?

[Leorigo]

I've talked to her. she speaks Spanish (mother language), French, German, Italian and English.

[FrenchLanguage]

Leorigo, You TALKED to her? Yeah, right. lol

Yes, we Europeans speak several languages. I speak French, English and Italian.

[Leorigo]

Yes I did. Funny you don't believe me...

[FrenchLanguage]

Leorigo, I believe you. I do. I really, really, really do.

;)

[pipeorganloverNJP]

@ Leorigo. Don't waste your time trying to reason with a dick (FrenchLanguage). You don't need IQ-deficit morons like that to believe something for it to be true.

[pichat1]

You're sad

[UFOLUX]

maybe she did not win because she looks like cooking something .. i mean .. is she even there while playing??

[arschgrauviolett]

Well, actually she did win and if it's about cooking with hot temperature than she defnitely is cooking.

[Leorigo]

she did win.

[buddydog1956]

that's right...she was cooking me a pot of red beans and rice....was ok.....

[hideaway3]

Hi, Ufolux,

You do realize that if you remove the OL from your screen name what we have.

I guess it's great that we have the freedom of speech we do indeed possess here, but it's only too bad we have idiots like you e-mailing the general public saying absolutely NOTHING. Ah, well, I guess we should rejoice in a free America and just accept the likes of you. Oh, by the way, Happy New Year. Did you cook this year ? Come on tell me, did you wear the same outfit Martha wore? I bet you did......

[pipeorganloverNJP]

Obviously UFOLUX is having trouble with all five of his senses, plus his brain, which seems to have gone out of control. I'm usually liberal and I don't say anything if someone expresses a different opinion, but yours has nothing of an opinion. It's a pointless, malicious remark that only goes to show how much of a jobless moron you really are. Let me guess. You were recently dumped, and now you're sitting in front of the computer, cutting your wrists and making a fool of yourself on YouTube.

[pipeorganloverNJP]

*Not to mention that you got your facts wrong. Martha Argerich won, and won unequivocally. And if you don't think she's there while playing then you're either implying that it's possible to play while not being physically there, or blind. I'm predisposed to believe it's the latter case.

[MinaeOletSaksasta]

OMG..

this is soooo easy... ^_^' isn't it? eeehe

I'm absolutely speechless.

[Ellinidara]

Legendary recording.

[patygiss]

unforget!!!

[Seetheskyabouttorain]

The six chords at 5:04 - 5:10 are sublime Chopin.

[himitsunosallychan]

How could she not have won. I am just glad she did not enter the 1960 competition, because then the Maurizio I love would more than likely not have had any career as a pianist.

[keelan111]

She's so talented I can barely focus on drooling over her beauty.

[swanningaround]

To my mind, she is so much better now than what she was then. She is now a phenomenon, and humble with it! Mind you, she was very good then.

[TJFNYC212]

very sultry lol

[swanningaround]

Wow. She produced a big sound even then. I consider that the greatest pianists are Rubenstein, Horowitz, Cortot, Barenboim and Richter. I now am beginning to think that Artgerich is also up there with this esteemed company.

[darkshadyfigure]

Can't forget about Gould and Czerny now =).

[mdoub]

everyone grows old

[Paulo78180]

What beautiful hands !

[Irelandlass7789]

does anyone know how did she placed at this competition?

[inialny]

she won overwhelmingly!

a distant 2nd place took ex aequo Julio Cortazar & Jorge Borges

[JHManager]

Actually, Arthur Moreira Lima was second.

[JHManager]

Are you referring to the writers Julio Cortazar and Jorge Luis Borges?

[EdiEllerymissing]

Here she turn into the world musical phenomena she is since then. SHE WON. No one has played like her since then.

[FtJingles]

She won

[COCOONFABULA]

She won the competition =P

[MisterioenlaRed]

que talentooooooooo por deos, los dedos que te marean, no creo que nunca pueda llegar a tocar así, es imprecionante. saludos.

[Cherubino91]

WOW

[stlivermore]

I can see and feel why she won. This performance somehow makes me lose awareness of time and space, lifts me to another realm altogether. She was quite a phenomenon in her prime! Thanks for the beautiful video, it's a unique, timeless performance.

[3cplantin]

And she is still in her prime -- and still a phenomenon.

[stlivermore]

True as day. She has only become more vintage and more phenomenonal, but those early recordings are legendary for their timeless novelty and the freshness of youth..

[Frozentoes1]

Not quite.

[3cplantin]

Most certainly: she has matured since this video and her added years of experience, to say nothing of her expanded solo and chamber music repertoire, have made her into one of the premiere musicians of any kind living today: a phenomenon by any standard.

[eoztek]

WHAT PIECE IS THIS I NEED TO KNOW

[yungyueh]

This piece is Chopin Scherzo op.39 no.3 in c# minor

[emma1021poo]

I noe why she didnt win, because she played wrong on 6:48, she even saw herself played wrong

[pianofan86]

in fact, she actually won!! :P

[engjoel]

music is not only play the right notes at correct times. Martha proved it again here.

[Frozentoes1]

You may want to verify you assumptions before babbling away. Never ass-u-me...you make an ass out of you and me.

[zzzzzzzzzzzzzzander]

actually she did win

[formenlehre]

This is a competition? So.....did she win or what?

[pianofan86]

yes she did!

[mortonbaychestnut]

Yeah... Just not fare is it?!

How can some people be so incredibly genius at something, and sooo beautiful and sexy at the same time... Emmm. Those little movements of her lips and mouth are just delectable....

Okay, okay, okay... Onto the music: no matter how shit ugly she actually is, this is one great performance; so effortless, so well interpretated; the emotions portrayed are just spot on; it were as if the music just speaks, so naturally and freely...

[goldenthroat86]

Look at how young and, dare I say it...HOT Martha looks here! And playing like a Godess, as usual.

[bkatt1187]

brilliant!

[ljoekelsoey4]

insane playing, and shes feckin stunning to boot... just not fair

[foreverbrancusi]

che belle mani k ha....the virtuosity it's really good.

Brava !

[yourforte]

Fabulous

[ikshields]

Good god, she made it look like a stroll in the park...

Effortless! Wow.

Finally, a performance of this piece that sounds like great music, instead of like a pianist fighting to a draw against an instrument.

[Will170392]

THAT is the prototype of expressive and thoughtful virtuosic piano playing

[mosquiterom]

marta es argentinaaaaaaa

[pianoxgurl]

she takes my breath away.. wow

[silentplummet]

All the recordings of her on youtube have shitty, shitty audio quality.

[IIPianista]

{This is not a comment}

Why do we post so many comments on whether we agree or not this musical piece is beautiful?

Are our point of views really relevant to the purpose of the listening?

How are they going to affect us in any way?

Why do we crave green thumb-ups or red thumb-downs?

Validation by others wont change my perspective of the musical piece I'm listening.

Even if many would agree with that statement, still few are ontollogically consistent with it.

{This is a paradox}

[FoUf0uFoU]

Beautiful ! It's a masterpiece.

[agnosticforce]

What year was this recorded?

[cowboytim98]

1965

[juliofierro62]

Te amo Marta,

amo tus manos,tu pelo de india,

tu estilo para tocar el piano, endemoniadamente bello,

tu destreza,

tu memoria

tu entrega

tu erotismo

te adoro.

[neoland9]

god she was so beautiful..

what a great pianist..

aguante argentiiinaaaaaaaaa

estaba divina!!!

q buena pianista x dioss..

la mejor lejos!!!!!

[mxdblessing]

i like this a lot better than her later recordings of the piece actually. it's fresh and intuitive.

[chopinlytlyt]

Hitherto ,I don`t know what an angel mean!!

[jomoses07]

she has such a great flow...its so amazing!!

[MintyTwang]

I can't believe it cuts off right before the last chord. But still an amazing video.

[squishym]

She has the perfect instinct for how a piece should flow - none of the pretentious, self-conscious liberties that so many pianists take with the tempo without reason. And yet, she plays with such freedom, expressing the music in ways that seem so original, and yet natural =)

[ilnvita]

Thanx for the vid!! So amazing to see how free and in control her playing was at that age already. Great scherzo!

[utubuser10]

This is a completely amazing video!!! Thanks for posting. We live in the best of times!!! When has the 'average Joe' ever been able to take part in some of the most immortal/historic performances as we are able to do so with Youtube? Viva la Youtube!!! I remember waiting with bated breath just to maybe catch a Vladimir Horowitz on PBS but now a whole new world, no, universe lays open for all of us to see!!!

[blaubeeri666]

welcome to the 21th century old man

[Kurtyoungblood]

Haha I would give you a thumbs up, I thought it was funny but your comment is past redemption.

[juanferrio]

why time make this with people body? she was beauty

[kimolitsa]

she is the best!i have heard her 4times live!i adore her!!

[1l1v32d13]

Wow if it wasnt her beauty that stole my heart it was her ability to play this effortlessly.

[mdoub]

the piano does not sexify women