The present release is the second album on Avi with the Dutch/French/German group Flex Ensemble. The release features a new arrangement of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, “Eroica,” for piano quartet, completed by the composer’s pupil and friend Ferdinand Ries. Additionally, Canadian/German composer Gordon Williamson wrote two pieces reflecting the Eroica. Both embrace the Beethoven arrangement, and are receiving here their world premiere recording. “When we first found out about an arrangement for piano quartet of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, we were of course very curious! It seemed exciting and perhaps a bit crazy to play an entire symphony with just the four of us, but in fact, in the days before recordings, it was very common to hear and play transcriptions. It was a way to get to know the latest symphonic works, even if you lived nowhere near a big town or city. But even though the idea of transcribing symphonies wasn’t new, for us it offered a totally different and fresh perspective on a very familiar piece of music.” (Martha Bijlsma)
