For the Record, Op. 276: Leonidas Kavakos, Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax
Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening!
Violinist Leonidas Kavakos, pianist Emanuel Ax and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Beethoven for Three: Symphony No. 4 and Op. 97, “Archduke"
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Emanuel Ax, piano
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Re-arranged for piano, violin, and cello by Shai Wosner, this album is the latest chapter in three friends’ ongoing exploration of Beethoven’s symphonic works - reinvented for trio. "We all feel that being able to participate in a symphony is such a wonderful thing to do," cellist Yo-Yo Ma said. "One of the things that has separated people since recording began is the categories that we put people in, in which chamber musicians, orchestra players, people who play concertos, people who do transcriptions, people who compose, people who conduct, are all viewed as separate categories with no overlap. That siloed thinking discourages actual creativity and collaboration between people. And so we feel that one of the things that is really important to do today is to actually go back to the first principles of music, the simple interaction between friends who want to do something together." Beethoven for Three has its origins in the 2021 Tanglewood Music Festival, where Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Ma first played Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in trio format. The performance was an instant success, and the first release in the series, Beethoven for Three: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5, was recorded soon after. The second installment in the project, Beethoven for Three: Symphony No. 6 'Pastorale' and Op. 1, No. 3 was released in 2022 to further acclaim. BELOW: Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60: I. Adagio - Allegro vivace
If you have a new recording you would like us to consider for inclusion in our "For the Record" feature, please e-mail Editor Laurie Niles. Be sure to include the name of your album, a link to it and a short description of what it includes.
You might also like:
- For the Record, Op. 275: Carr-Petrova Duo; Francisco Fullana; Space Time Continuo
- For the Record, Op. 274: Francesca Dego; Amalia Hall; Curtis Stewart; The Nash Ensemble
- For the Record, Op. 273: Bella Hristova, violist Molly Gebrian, Ivry Gitlis, Solomiya Ivakhiv
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March 17, 2024 at 08:52 PM · These arrangements were published in the 19th century because there were no recordings in the 19th century; the only way to hear a symphony (outside the concert hall) was to play it yourself on whatever instrument you played and with the forces you happened to have. Now that we have recordings available these arrangements are being recorded and marketed as something special. Ironic, isn't it?