This series from Chandos is the latest to cover the entire piano output of the composer best remembered for his operas. It is easy to dismiss Rossini's piano writing as ephemera, not technically challenging or musically advanced compared to the contemporary works of Liszt and
Chopin. On the other hand, in each of the Péchés, Rossini had a particular goal in mind, whether to explore a new scale, parody another composer's work, or tell a story, and he achieves those goals precisely and charmingly. The accompanying notes discuss this in detail, and you can hear how
Marco Sollini plays Rossini with sympathy. He not only brings out the lyrical aspects of these pieces, but also makes them true character pieces at times. The album begins with a few premieres of unpublished autograph works, which sound unfinished compared to the other pieces, but still have the marks of Rossini's hand; some etudes exploring a whole-tone, "Chinese" scale followed by a lovely song using that scale, with contralto
Marina De Liso; and pieces from Book 9 of Péchés. These last include the Marche et réminiscences pour mon dernier voyage (March and Reminiscences for My Last Voyage), which refers to several of Rossini's most popular opera themes and is not at all funereal despite its title. The selections on the album do not include any of Rossini's more humorous piano pieces, such as the Valse anti-dansante or Un petit train de plaisir comicque-imitatif, but given
Sollini's performance here, those are just things to look forward to hearing from him.