Beethoven For Three: Symphonies Nos 2 & 5

Here, the line between orchestral and chamber music blurs. The soloists present two of Beethoven's iconic symphonies in intimate arrangements that preserve the power and immediacy of Beethoven's orchestral works "Beethoven for Three" transports listeners to the early 19th century, when audiences were more familiar with the composer's music in arrangements for piano trio, string quartet or piano four hands than for full orchestra. Here, Ax, Kavakos and Ma search for the most essential elements of Beethoven's musical language by combining his Second Symphony, arranged for trio by Beethoven's student Ferdinand Ries, with his Fifth Symphony - one of the best-known pieces of classical music - in a newly commissioned arrangement by Colin Matthews. Performing the symphonies on three instruments is a challenge that provides a wealth of insight into Beethoven's writing process. "The idea of being able to play the beginning of the Fifth Symphony with your hands is just incredibly exciting," Ax says. "And you learn a lot about his combination of controlled madness and incredible lyricism - and there's so much of that in both the Fifth and Second symphonies ... It was incredibly exciting to work on it over and over again and just try to hit the notes." With "Beethoven for Three," Ax, Kavakos and Ma build on their success at the 2021 Tanglewood Festival, where they performed Beethoven's 2nd Symphony as a trio for the first time. in 2014, they had first appeared together as a trio at the Tanglewood Festival, playing a program of Brahms piano trios. Their first recording together, "Brahms: The Piano Trios," was released in 2017 to universal critical acclaim; Gramophone wrote that "these performances go straight to the heart of Brahms's music and relish its appeal of contrasts."

Price: $22.98

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