Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No 1 - Nutcracker Suite - Argerich

Most listeners will come for the Tchaikovsky First Concerto and stay for the two-piano version of the Nutrcracker Suite. I think it should be the other way around. Argerich is a great devotee of piano duets, of course, and has had many partners over the years. In this 1983 performance she found the best of all in Nicolas Economou, the gifted Cypriot pianist and composer who died tragically in a car accident. Their partnership sounds as if one inspired musician were playing, which is the highest praise one can give a duo. It's a unique, celebratory reading.



The piano concerto, recorded live in 1994, begins with the most thrilling first movement I ever hope to hear - not only is Argerich at her spontaneous best, but Abbado joins her in a rip-roaring orchestral accompaniment with the Berlin Philharmonic. 







Enjoy and Seed!!