Yo-Yo Ma and long-time friend and musical partner Emanuel Ax have released Hope Amid Tears, a new recording of Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano, on Sony Classical. The album presents Beethoven’s five sonatas for cello and piano in the order in which they were composed, tracing an important arc in Beethoven’s development and approach as a composer. Joining them are Beethoven’s three sets of variations for cello and piano. “When we look to music to give us hope for the future, to believe that we can survive and to do good, it is invariably to Beethoven’s,” writes Ax. “His mastery of musical craft was second to none, of course, but it is his indomitable spirit in the face of personal tragedy that makes him unique.”