The 1996 recordings reissued here marked the “joint 100th birthday” of the two performers: Gröschel was 78, Rummel 22 years old. For Rummel, as a young soloist at the beginning of his career, the encounter with Gröschel was formative for his further path, not only with the works of Beethoven: “The irrepressible joy of music-making of this old master, which can also be heard on this recording, his fortepiano playing, which is always gripping due to full risk and which was not even marred by the war injury (his stiffened left index finger was missing the foremost limb), carried me along and carried me over the fact that Gröschel did not think much of rehearsals.”