Ludwig van Beethoven - The Piano Trios, Vol. 3 (Busch Trio)

Information

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

• Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70 No. 1 "Ghost"
• Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 70 No. 2
• 10 Variations on "Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu", Op. 121a

Busch Trio

    Mathieu van Bellen, violin

    Ori Epstein, cello

    Omri Epstein, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Alpha Classics

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For the third volume of their complete recording of Beethoven’s piano trios, the Busch Trio performs the famous Op. 70 works alongside the Variations in G Major, Op. 121a. The collection features the D Major "Ghost" Trio, whose nickname stems from Czerny’s association of its eerie slow movement with Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and the E-flat Major Trio, written in the heroic key of Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto and "Eroica" Symphony. The album concludes with Op. 121a, a set of variations on a theme from Wenzel Müller's comic Singspiel, which opens with the most grandiloquent introduction in Beethoven’s chamber music output.

Busch Trio is a chamber ensemble formed by close friends Omri Epstein, Mathieu van Bellen, and Ori Epstein during their studies at the Royal College of Music. Their collaboration evolved organically from individual solo ambitions into a unified artistic identity centered on piano trio repertoire. The ensemble is named in tribute to violinist Adolf Busch, whose musical ideals strongly influence their interpretative approach, reflected in their use of historical instruments such as an 18th-century Guadagnini violin and gut strings. Now based in Amsterdam, the trio performs internationally at major venues and festivals across Europe and the United States, earning critical acclaim for their refined ensemble playing and stylistic insight. Their recordings for Alpha Classics include complete works by Dvořák, Schubert, Ravel, and Shostakovich, with an ongoing Beethoven trio cycle further establishing their presence in the core chamber music repertoire.