Martha Argerich, Mstislav Rostropovich - Schumann: Piano Concerto, Cello Concerto (1995)

Delivered in a limpid tone and with neat fingerwork, Argerich’s 1978 account of the Piano Concerto is characteristically resolute. Though she enjoys its moments of display, her sympathy with its poetic moods is keen. She also listens to the orchestra, which provides some attractive woodwind solos. Her accompanist, Rostropovich, is a good listener too, and doubtless the better for being a soloist himself, as in the 1961 performance of the Cello Concerto under the supportive Rozhdestvensky. A curiously sketchy work, the Concerto’s inward qualities receive passionate treatment, though the sound is rough. -- George Hall, BBC Music Magazine