Beethoven Reimagined from Naxos

BEETHOVEN REIMAGINED: SONATA FOR ORCHESTRA, A FIDELIO SYMPHONY, GABRIEL PROKOFIEV: BEETHOVEN 9: SYMPHONIC REMIX, Gabriel Prokofiev, Electronics, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Yaniv Segal/Naxos  Rather than the umpteenth recording of Beethoven’s nine symphonies, here is something refreshingly different. The real selling point of this enterprising new disc is the sympathetic orchestration of the composer’s Violin Sonata No. 7 – essentially, we are given a new orchestral piece by Beethoven. That is a cause for celebration, as is A Fidelio Symphony which renders vocal lines into symphonic form, traversing the entire compass of the composer’s only opera. Less successful is Gabriel Prokofiev’s Beethoven 9 Symphonic Remix that utilises various tricks in a fitful musical transformation of the symphony. But nevertheless the two main works on the disc make this a must for adventurous Beethovenians, particularly as 2020 is the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth.