Let's talk music, no genre boundaries

@audio-b-dog 

Thanks for recommending Martha Argerich. I'm sorry -- should have stated earler that I've never been a fan of the orchestra. Perhaps if I had a dedicated room and a system that could present such recordings more realistically, I'd grow to appreciate the sound. Nevertheless, I do enjoy solo Classical piano, so I will seek out Argerich in that context.  

@stuartk 

Argerich has a numerous solo piano albums. She is known for Chopin and Schumann, among others. Schumann is a hard composer to cozy up to. He died in a mental institution at 35 of manic depression, I think. His long piano works will move from absolutely beautiful melodies to dark, cacophonous passages. His wife, Clara, was a composer in her own right and an extremely popular concert pianist. She introduced a number of his works. You might look for Argerich playing "kinderszenen." It is about the phases of childhood, if I remember correctly. The early passages are lovely, then he descends into a kind of madness, but pulls out of it. It must be so hard for a pianist to express his soul  as @mahgister says.

@audio-b-dog 

Thanks. 

I’ll check out the Chopin. I already have a recording of Nocturnes by a S. American pianist whose name I don’t recall... Maria Pires, I think. 

Not sure I want to hear the sonic equivalent of a child 
"descending into madness"               ;o) 

@stuartk 

I have Maria Pires playing Mozart’s sonatas. She is pristine in her delivery. I have others playing Mozart piano sonatas who bring out emotional depth that Pires avoids, I think. Her notes sparkle. For her, I think, it’s all about the touch and the timing. She leans more toward a Classical interpretation, where others lean toward the Romantic.

Argerich is bold and powerful, at least that’s the way I hear her. I know you don’t play orchestral music (although I think you can. I used to listen to it on a $100 Sears suitcase stereo that probably didn’t go below 80 Hz.) If you were to try a piano concerto, she does a mean Prokofieff’s 3rd piano concerto. It has the most amazing build I’ve ever heard. He mastered the art of the build, rising up to a crescendo then descending. Rising up again and descending. Until finally the crescendo comes and it is extremely satisfying.

@audio-b-dog 

I'm not a classical aficionado and therefore, lack your refined sensitivity and discernment when it comes to comparing different versions of a particular piece. I will say that, personally, I find the Pires recording of the Nocturnes quite emotionally affecting. I bought it after listening to perhaps a half dozen pianists' interpretations of the Nocturnes on Spotify. However, this was some time ago and I do not recall the names of the other pianists.