Beethoven for Three: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5

"I wasn't expecting to be absolutely bowled over by Colin Matthews's arrangement of the Fifth Symphony, but I was - and still am...Matthews has done a most impressive job of paring the music down to its essentials while retaining its character and emotional impact." Gramophone March 2022

This album presents two of Beethoven's iconic symphonies in intimate arrangements that maintain the power and immediacy of Beethoven's orchestral works.

Here, Ax, Kavakos, and Ma seek out the most essential elements of Beethoven's musical language, pairing his second symphony, arranged for trio by Beethoven's pupil Ferdinand Ries, with his fifth - among the most recognisable pieces in western classical music - in a newly-commissioned arrangement by Colin Matthews.