AllMovie

Martha Argerich, Evening Talks constitutes one of the few documentary portraits of Argentine concert pianist Argerich, an elusive and enigmatic figure despite her well-outlined life story. A native of Buenos Aires, Argerich played her first Mozart concerto at the age of eight; at 14, she moved to Europe and studied with no less than Friedrich Gulda, Madeleine Lipatti and Nikita Maganoff - an impressive track record for an early adolescent. Over the following years she racked up a litany of awards that included early wins in the Ferruccio Busoni International Competition and the Geneva International Competition; as she aged, she developed a particularly strong proficiency for the composers Prokofiev, Ravel, Messiaen, Rachmaninov and Lutoslawski. Evening Talks provides a rare and intimate glimpse into Argerich; it finds documentarist Georges Gachot sitting down with her and discussing her life, experiences and perceptions of music. The filmmaker supplements his material with location shots of Argentina, excerpts from concerts and concert rehearsals, archival footage, and much more.