An audience of Beethoven's 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 Beethoven's 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. It's 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 it's 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.