Mischa Maisky, Martha Argerich - In Concert (2005)

This disc is the reason that recordings exist: to preserve great performances of great music in transparent sound. This April 2003 recording made in Flagey Hall in Brussels of performances by cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Martha Argerich is certainly among the best performances ever made of this repertoire. Indeed, only the Rostropovich and Shostakovich performances can compare with them and, even there, it is arguable that Maisky and Argerich's are equally convincing.
And equally original: while Maisky is a supreme technician, he is also the most fervent living cellist; while Argerich is beyond virtuosity, she is also the most passionate living pianist; and while there have been great, even definitive, recordings of all these works before, Maisky and Argerich are so commanding and so compelling and so overwhelming that comparisons are pointless. Superbly programmed and translucently recorded, this disc certainly should be heard by anyone who loves great performances of great music.