Duo Pleyel: Richard Egarr & Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya met Beethoven’s vijfde & achtste Symfonie

Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (arranged for 4-hands by Carl Czerny)

Duo PLeyel & Beethoven 3-year recording projectMay 2023 saw the start of a 3-year recording project by Duo Pleyel of the complete Beethoven Symphonies in extraordinary 4-hand arrangements by his undervalued student Carl Czerny.

These are fascinating and hugely important keyboard transcriptions from a historical, musicological, and purely musical perspective. Czerny was perhaps the most important teacher and virtuoso before Liszt (Czerny's student!). As a pupil of Beethoven, Czerny knew and had unique insight into his teacher's music, and Beethoven often entrusted Czerny with the performance of his piano works.

Czerny's brilliant transcriptions of Beethoven's Symphonies were known by the composer, and were made with immense skill and great care. You will be amazed at what you hear in these spectacular arrangements of perhaps the greatest Symphony cycle in History.

This program has the two most energetic of Beethoven's Symphonies. Even though it is only 25 minutes long, the 8th symphony is actually one of Beethoven's most extreme works. The 5th is certainly his most well-known.