Few pianists from any generation have performed a range of repertory comparable to that of German pianist
Peter Rösel. But it is not just
Rösel's vast repertory that makes him stand out, it is his mastery of it. From
Haydn and
Mozart, on through the most challenging works of the twentieth century,
Rösel has demonstrated an interpretive grasp of many styles, with a technique to surmount virtually any challenge, including those presented by that daunting pair of concertos from the early twentieth century: the
Prokofiev Second and
Rachmaninov Third. Stylistically,
Rösel tended to have a less light-fingered approach to
Mozart and a more muscular way with
Debussy than was usual, but he generally made a strong case for his thoughtful interpretations. He may have led an even more successful career had he lived free from the suffocating restraints of Soviet-dominated East Germany. Along with his huge repertory,
Rösel made numerous recordings starting in the late '60s, many of which have been reissued in the new century. His recordings are available on a variety of labels, including EMI, Brilliant Classics, Berlin Classics, Capriccio, and others.
Rösel was born into a musical family in war-torn Dresden, Germany, on February 2, 1945. He began playing the piano at six and quickly advanced. He studied with
Dmitri Bashkirov and
Lev Oborin at Moscow's Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
After capturing prizes in major competitions, including the 1966 Tchaikovsky International and the 1968 Montreal International Piano Competition, he emerged as one of the foremost young pianists from East Germany. In 1970 he began regularly appearing with
Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and performed as soloist with them in more than 200 concerts in the coming years.
From the late '60s,
Rösel made a number of recordings for the East German label Eterna, much of whose catalog has been reissued on Berlin Classics in the new century. After 1970,
Rösel's reputation grew steadily as he appeared with many of the world's major orchestras, including the
Berlin Philharmonic,
Detroit Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and
Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
In 1992
Rösel was invited by
Masur to play the
Rachmaninov Third Concerto with the
New York Philharmonic at its 150th anniversary celebrations. While the pianist's activity in the recording studio began to taper off in the latter twentieth and early twenty first centuries, he has maintained a busy schedule of concerts across Europe, the U.S., and Asia.