Britten Sinfonia – Adès, Barry, Beethoven

Thomas Adès pianoMembers of Britten Sinfonia

Beethoven SeptetGerald Barry Low for clarinet and pianoBeethoven Piano Trio in E flat Op. 70 No. 2

Ludwig van Beethoven was music’s ultimate revolutionary whilst Gerald Barry smashes every rule of new music. For Thomas Adès, they’re ‘volcanic’, ‘galvanising’ creative spirits: when he takes to the piano with members of Britten Sinfonia, the results will be chamber music in size only.

It should be an electriftying upbeat to Adès’s forthcoming Barry and Beethoven cycle wtih the orchestra. For both Adès and our musicians, there’s no such thing as an established interpretation and this cycle will take on a new perspective on Beethoven. Adès brings a composer’s insight: ‘We haven’t got to the end of what Beethoven has to say to us,’ he says.

Image: Thomas Adès (c) Brian Voce