Argerich.png

Argerich, A Life

Janos Gereben on December 31, 2013
Martha Argerich with her daughters
Martha Argerich with her daughters

A new, fascinating documentary about Martha Argerich is made by her daughter, Stéphanie Argerich (the father is Stephen Kovacevich), and it's now available on Medici.tv in full or in an introductory free excerpt (with a c'mon-subscribe pitch).

The DVD of Bloody Daughter can be found on Amazon. From the description of the documentary:

The mother through the daughter’s eyes — a family portrait blending intimate conversations, agreements, and disagreements, and shred ties of sounds and blood. An intimate portrait of two musical giants.

This documentary has been filmed in several countries: Poland, where Martha Argerich chairs the judges of the International Chopin competition and gives several recitals with her close friend Nelson Freire; Japan, at the unique Argerich festival; the United Kingdom, where Stephen Kovacevich, the father of Stéphanie, lives; Belgium, where Martha and Stéphanie lived together for several years; Argentina, where Martha was born (in Buenos Aires); Switzerland, where Martha and Stéphanie are currently living; France, where the grandmother’s apartment still houses valuable treasures.

Made up of documentary sequences focusing on the two characters of Martha and Stephen in their everyday lives, in rehearsal and in performance, the film is largely given over to intimate conversations (filmed by Stephanie herself, alone or with one or other of her parents), delicious anecdotes, and a few scenes in which we will see the family reunited.