A superstar trio distils the tender intimacy of Beethoven’s “Pastoral”

Violinist Leonidas Kavakos, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax present the second of their Beethoven for Three albums, a series exploring piano trio arrangements of Beethoven’s symphonies. Together, they bring a supreme warmth and wisdom to pianist Shai Wosner’s arrangement of Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”. In the “Scene by the brook”, Ax’s piano burbles with al fresco satisfaction, while “The storm” is convincingly turbulent. The finale’s “Thanksgiving after the storm” is suffused with a tender intimacy, at least equalling the blissed-out pantheistic vision of Beethoven’s orchestral original. A seamlessly collaborative performance of Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 3 adds further kudos to this masterclass in chamber music-making.