Over the last 20 years, the Dutch conductor Jan Willem de Vriend has immersed himself in the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, with enormous passion and enthusiasm. De Vriend believes that he is now ready to embark on a series of recordings of the symphonies, and this new Hybrid SACD, on which he is joined by the highly-regarded Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, features numbers 4 and 6.

Jan Willem de Vriend is the artistic director of Combattimento Consort Amsterdam and since 2006 has been the chief conductor and artistic director of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra. De Vriend has been a guest conductor with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, The Hague Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra is based in the province of Overijssel and performs concert series in Enschede, Hengelo, Zwolle and Deventer. Another important role for the orchestra is accompanying De Nationale Reisopera and provincial choral societies.