Rachmaninoff 150 Kirill Gerstein, Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker with an homage

Gerstein says that a feeling of love for Rachmaninoff’s music was palpable in his rehearsals with Kirill Petrenko and the Berlin Philharmoniker, and their love was shared with listeners to this performance at the Waldbühne Concert in June 2022. Such a deeply gratifying collaboration led naturally to a Rachmaninoff project, with Gerstein recording solo music at the Philharmonie to complement the concerto from the Waldbühne. In his selection, the pianist curates a glimpse into the evolution of Rachmaninoff’s creative vision. Starting out from the familiar Romantic brilliance of the Second Concerto, the pieces glance backward to the youthful style of his early works and forward to the pared-down harmonies of his late Variations on a Theme of Corelli. Rachmaninoff 150 is also a celebration of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s own ties to the man and his music: a tradition that dates back to 1903, when the C minor Piano Concerto became the first of his works to be performed by the orchestra. The composer played this same concerto in 1908 at his Berliner Philharmoniker debut, as did Kirill Gerstein at his debut with the orchestra in 2016. Accompanying the SACD/CD release with stereo and surround sound is an illustrated 76-page booklet containing atmospheric artwork by Thomas Struth as well as extensive texts.

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