Peter Rösel

Peter Rösel, Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester, Kurt Sanderling – Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos & Paganini Rhapsody (1978-1982/2022)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 02:44:36 minutes | 6,6 GB
Genre: Classical | Publisher (label): Berlin Classics / Tower Records Japan – 0302751BC-1

These recordings by pianist Peter Rösel and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra under Kurt Sanderling were made in 1979. They are very well remastered here by the team of reissue producer Marcus Heinicke, and it might have been good to have a bit more information in the annotations about the original recordings and the reissue process. However, annotator Dirk Stöve provides valuable background about the meeting of the minds between Rösel and Sanderling that makes the recordings so distinctive. Sanderling, one learns, delayed recording Rachmaninov with the Berlin Symphony until he could find a pianist who shared his vision of the composer’s concertos, which he regarded as ill-served by the general perception of them as merely “virtuoso” works. Sanderling believed in a relatively dry approach, marked by clarity and a restrained use of vibrato, and in pianist Rösel, he found a kindred spirit. There is a certain amount of support in historical recordings for this view, and it is quite bracing to hear the music done this way. Sample the finale of the Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40, glittering and coruscating as the piano enters. There are certainly weightier versions of the slow movements out there, and in general, the recording isn’t for those who like their Rachmaninov with blood and thunder. However, this is a needed look at a somewhat forgotten aspect of Rachmaninov and a highly worthwhile reissue.

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