After an acclaimed first instalment, Inon Barnatan, Alan Gilbert and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields complete their Beethoven piano concertos diptych. This recording project bears the fruit of longstanding and profound musical friendships. While the 2nd Piano Concerto is fairly Mozartian in spirit, the famous 5th “Emperor” Concerto reveals Beethoven’s full maturation, and is one of the most popular piano concertos to this very day. These pieces are complemented by two rarities: Beethoven’s arrangement for piano and orchestra of his Violin Concerto, as well as the Choral Fantasy, a small-scale forerunner of his epic “Choral” Ninth Symphony. © Pentatone