Omri and Ori Epstein are almost inseparable, both personally and musically. Born in Israel to a family of three musical siblings, their artistic paths have been intertwined from the very beginning, including rehearsing, studying, performing and recording together. This edition of the complete works by Beethoven for piano and cello is their debut album as a duo, but far from their first together. As members of their esteemed piano trio, the Busch Trio, they have recorded the complete works of Dvořák for piano and strings together with violinist Mathieu van Bellen.

Born in 1986 and 1993 respectively, Omri and Ori both began their early music education at the Israeli Conservatory in Tel-Aviv. In 2002 they moved with their family to London, where they continued their development at The Purcell School. Always looking to learn and develop, the brothers explored the duo repertoire from a young age and travelled together to play for artists such as Miklós Perényi, Antonio Meneses and Bernard Greenhouse, residing with the latter in his US home and receiving daily guidance.

Aside from a period when Omri pursued further studies in the UK and Ori in Switzerland, they have always lived in the same city. While in London, they met their future best friend and musical part- ner, Mathieu van Bellen, with whom they share numerous passions from cooking and cycling to fishing and music. As the Busch Trio, they have established themselves as one of the leading young piano trios in Europe. Together they moved to Brussels to become artists-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and shared the stage countless times at some of the world’s most renowned venues. They currently reside in Amsterdam, where together with Mathieu van Bellen and Maria Milstein they founded MuziekHaven, a unique chamber music centre.

While in Brussels, Ori received guidance from Gary Hoffman, with whom he and Omri studied the complete works of Beethoven for piano and cello. This recording is the result of this intense period of reflection as well as that of a long friendship and musical partnership, which in spite of their relatively young age, is more than 20 years old.

Ori plays on one of the best-preserved cellos made by Giovanni Battista Ceruti. Made in Cremona in 1815, it is the last cello made by Ceruti and has been kindly lent to Ori by a private syndicate of sponsors.