Don’t let this album’s title put you off; nothing is ‘recomposed’ here. Rather, these are quite faithful arrangements for string orchestra by Paul Struck (not the composer who was a contemporary of Beethoven but a living, Russian-born composer). Indeed, as the LGT Young Soloists are a smallish ensemble (just a dozen or so players), the results don’t even venture far from the realm of chamber music – unlike, say, the Beethoven quartets Bernstein recorded with the VPO (DG, 11/92) – though the fact remains that transferring a piano part to strings necessitates a fundamental transformation.

Of the two arrangements, I find the A major Cello Sonata to be the more successful, as the work’s overarching lyricism is heightened by the conversion to strings. Listen, for instance, to the very end of the first movement (at 12'35"), where twinkling piano figuration is made into something even more ethereal. In the Kreutzer Sonata, however, I feel the loss of the piano’s percussive bite more keenly; and despite some ferocious playing by the ensemble, the music’s brilliance seems oddly muted.

Still, the various gains and losses in Struck’s arrangements reveal new aspects of these scores, and the performances are impressive both for their polish and commitment. Luka Coetzee’s warm tone is a joy to hear and Miclen LaiPang walks the Kreutzer’s perilous high-wire act with aplomb.