mz
Mark Zimmer
Beethoven: String Quartets arranged for saxophones (Bright Shiny Things)
If ever you’ve wondered how Beethoven’s string quartets would sound played by saxophones [MZ]
Beethoven: String Quartets Vol 1 (Chandos)
A very promising beginning to the Doric’s Beethoven cycle, marked by excellent engineering, superb emotion, and precise attention to detail [MZ]
Beethoven: String Quartets Opp 74 & 130 (BIS)
A very fine recording of the Harp Quartet, although the outer movements of the Op130 quartet are lacking in power and thus take the disc down a notch [MZ]
Mozart: Don Juan (Narodowy Institut Fryderyka Chopin)
A fine performance of an oddball Bizet curiosity, but Mozart’s orchestration and vocal variety are sorely missed [MZ]
Rachmaninov: The Return (Challenge Classics)
One of Rachmaninov’s less famous works gets a highly emotional rendering on this debut disc [MZ]
Dvořák: Slavonic Dances (Prospero)
A vibrant and enthusiastic rendering [MZ]
Ries: Piano Trio & Sextets (Hyperion)
The fine recording and engineering on this disc are applied to rather drab and workmanlike performances [MZ]
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia (Pristine Audio)
Pristine delivers this classic Barbiere in an airy and better-balanced revision, free of hiss and noise [MZ]
