The New Zealand String Quartet’s first Naxos recording of Mendelssohn’s string quartets (8.570001) was praised as ‘an auspicious start’ by Gramophone and ‘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.