New Arrangements of Old Masterpieces

Last week, SoundsLikeSydney reviewed a concert by the Australian Haydn Ensemble which included important transcriptions of two major works for smaller ensembles.

One arrangement was of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no 2 in B flat major opus 19 (1795)  arranged by Stephen Yates for piano solo and string quintet (2014) and the other, Mozart’s Symphony No 39 in E flat major K543 (1788) arranged for flute, string quintet and double bass by Giambattista Cimador (1805).

Russian pianist Rem Urassin has transcribed some works by Rachmaninov and Shostakovich for cello and piano. He writes about his experiences in adapting these masterpieces in Gramophone magazine.