Mendelssohn: String Quartets, Vol. 2 - Nos. 2 & 5

"The New Zealand Quartet clearly love this music, and their strong sense of internal balance allows them to bring out many telling details that often go unnoticed…" Gramophone Magazine, November 2009

"The New Zealand Quartet plays these works with wonderful insight and understanding and they are not afraid to take chances when necessary, but always in the service of the music. Also, they are unafraid when it comes to being straight forward, as in the Fugue, for there's very little you can do with this particular piece except play it and the New Zealanders make no attempt to blow it up into a bigger piece. This is intelligent music-making. The recording is excellent, bright and clear and with a nice perspective on the four musicians. The notes, whilst brief, are good" (MusicWeb Feb 2010)

The New Zealand String Quartet's first Naxos recording of Mendelssohn's string quartets (8570001) was praised as "opulently recorded" by Classic FM Magazine.

Its warmly affectionate accounts continue with this second of three volumes, including Mendelssohn's posthumously published Capriccio and Fugue in E minor which display his polished mastery of counterpoint.

The composer's respect for Beethoven is evident in both the quartets on this disc, although in his marriage of Classical style and Romantic impulse, Mendelssohn's vivacious brilliance and lyrical gifts are never overshadowed.