べートーヴェン・フォー・スリー～交響曲第2番&第5番「運命」

名手3人が奏でる壮大なベートーヴェンの世界

2021年秋、待望の来日公演で聴衆を魅了した現代最高のチェリスト=ヨーヨー・マと鬼才レオニダス・カヴァコス、そして名手エマニュエル・アックスの3人による最新録音が完成!この顔合わせで2016年12月「ブラームス:ピアノ三重奏曲」全曲録音を行い、大変な話題となった。以来5年の歳月を経て3人が再び集い、新たにベートーヴェン＜交響曲＞の世界に挑んだ意欲作が届けられた。レコーディングは2021年8月、タングルウッドのセイジ・オザワ・ホールで行われた。ヨーヨー・マはエマニュエル・アックスとの2度目の「ベートーヴェン:チェロ・ソナタ」全曲録音を約半世紀ぶりに2021年6月に発表、各誌で高い評価を得ており現在グラミー賞にノミネート中。20世紀に名匠アイザック・スターンとの室内楽名盤の数々を世に送り出したヨーヨー・マが、21世紀に新たな盟友たちと放つ斬新なベートーヴェンの世界がここにある。
ソニー・ミュージック

An audience of Beethovens time, not assuming the reproducibility of music the way those of today do, would have welcomed these arrangements of Beethoven "for three," and indeed, that of the Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36, recorded here, was thought to have been made under the supervision of Beethoven himself. Still, most recordings of such arrangements, even the virtuoso versions of Liszt, have a historical tinge; they rarely receive the attention of musicians like pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and these are especially stirring performances. The most interesting aspect of the album is the contrast between the two arrangements. The version of the Symphony No. 2 was made by Beethovens student, Ferdinand Ries. It places the main material in the piano, with the violin and cello in supporting roles, and its effect is quite different from that of the original. Ries clearly modeled his effort on piano trios of the day. The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, by contrast, is modern, made by Colin Matthews. Its really a spectacularly good job, and one might have wished for more information in the sparse booklet as to how it came about. Consider the fugal Trio of the Scherzo, where the instruments are deftly moved from one register to another in order to transmit the sense of mounting excitement in the symphonic original. That excitement carries over into the finale, where its possible to forget that one is listening to a chamber arrangement. The whole thing is enjoyable, and Sony backs it up with ideal sound from Seiji Ozawa Hall at the Tanglewood Music Festival site. A supreme romp from three stars who have considerable expertise as chamber players.