Martha Argeric

Martha Argeric

I don't often get all crazy over other musicians; always trying to keep some sort of cool detachment. My favorite players are my friends with whom there has been some shared musical experience - something meaningful that we have done together I supposed you'd say.  Only rarely do I admire from afar.  Martha Argeric, the pianist, is one such person.

I'm a fan of most of the great orchestras but also enjoy a community orchestra giving their all or "playing over their heads".  That I admire.  A long time back I conducted a youth orchestra made up, at first, mainly of Suzuki trained string players.  Without putting too fine a point on it, note reading or reading music off the printed page is something that evolves in the Suzuki method.  The thrust is to learn a piece by guided imitation and learn it to perfection so that the technical elements of playing are thoroughly trained.  The result is excellent technical "performances" with note reading coming later...think of it as learning to speak and then learning to read....one can actually go a long way just

speaking without ever learning to read a word.

There is a point in music where the "technical" demands are almost too fast for the ear to hear and by necessity, you simply have to learn to read music in order to work it out.  That is an over simplification of course but to learn complex music by imitation will only take you so far. You see, if you learn something by imitation, you are limited by what you imitate.  You can put some little twists on things but mostly you are a mime of sorts.  Nothing wrong with that of course but there are different methods to get to the desired result.

I look at Martha Argeric playing just about anything and I see that fine mix of consistent technical wizardry and an understanding of  music as if she she examined every note on the page and how one note leads and relates to another.  Most important is that she shares her musical experience with the audience, listener, observer, etc. and makes it so that you are performing with her.  I've seen her "live" in concert perhaps a dozen times in my life and each time is overwhelming.

I am aware that this entry is a bit dismembered and rambling and is so because it appears very hard to explain.  Just go pour a cup of coffee and watch below, not only for the "flying fingers" but the really hard part - the understanding.