This Berlin Classics Basics album of the
Tchaikovsky and
Grieg piano concertos offers listeners precisely what the label indicates: a basic recording. Nothing egregiously bad with either performance, but certainly nothing great, either. Pianist
Peter Rosel joins the
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under
Kurt Masur for the
Tchaikovsky concerto. The first and second movements are a bit ponderous and lacking in forward momentum. The third movement opens with a reasonably sprightly tempo, but frequently gets bogged down in maestoso sections.
Rosel's playing is technically sufficient, but lacks any real power or passion. Not much different can be said of
Annerose Schmidt's performance of the
Grieg concerto with the
Dresden Philharmonic, again under
Kurt Masur.
Schmidt's rubato is very heavy handed with the end of virtually every phrase necessitating a ritardando, which quickly becomes monotonous and predictable. The orchestras in both concertos perform their duties admirably, but this does not make up for the lackluster interpretations offered by the two soloists. Apart from the bargain price, this album has little to offer potential listeners and should probably be passed up for superior recordings of both works.