The Fine Arts Quartet…strike(s) a splendid balance between vitality and elegance, the Intermezzo of the A Major Quintet is engagingly played, the Scherzo is crisp and brilliant, the Adagio of the B Flat Quintet is most warmly and stylishly played, and both Finales sparkle. The recording is excellent.

Naxos has another winner on its hands with the Fine Arts Quartet and Danilo Rossi (viola) and this has the fascinating bonus of the original third movement of the Op.18 Quintet.

Mendelssohnian magic! I first listened to samples of these quintets on the amazon site, inspired by other reviewers, and was struck by the infectious music-making of the Fine Arts Quartet. Having now listened to the complete works, I can only agree with my fellow reviewers that this is music to bring a smile to your face, and a lift to your heart. The quality of the playing gives such a zestful ‘bounce’ to the movements that this has the quality of a live performance without the attendant niggles. Highly recommended.

HIGH FIVES. 2009 is the bicentenary year of Mendelssohn’s birth, and I can’t imagine a better monument than his string quintets in this superb recording…Mendelssohn’s idiom is a delicate flower, calling for a patrician poise from the players to match the patrician elegance of the music. One real benchmark for measuring the performances is how the scherzos are handled. Mendelssohn’s scherzos are something unique in the history of music…To my ears, the Fine Arts Quartet have the idea of it to absolute perfection. This is artistic interpretation, itself a form of artistic creation…Schumann, with characteristic generosity, described Mendelssohn as the Mozart of the 19th century. Mendelssohn at his best has something of the same sense about him that he is one of the beloved of God as Amadeus himself has. This is the sense that makes me as enthusiastic as I am about this disc, and I recommend it entirely without reservation.