Kirill Gerstein’s new recording of the Rachmaninov second cocnerto and sundry solo pieces has bypassed all known record labels in a partnership that might signal how music is released five years nnow. Berlin-based Gerstein performed the concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko at a Waldbühne open-air concert latest June.

The orchestra then took the recording in-ho for post-production at their uncompromising high standard. Gerstein recorded the solo pieces in the large hallofthe Philharmonie, finally bringing in Apple’s Platoon div to see after marketing and distribution. The solo pieces are released exclusively on Apple Classical’s streaming app this weekend, to be followed by the concerto on April twenty-eight. The release is augmented by a 5.000 word historical reassessment of Rachmaninov’s space in the history of music.

How the recording is monetised remains unclear, but the process is one large step into a very different future, bypassing the established record business. It also overcomes Petrenko’s long-standing aversion to making records and suggests further releases the Berlin Phil.