Schubert: Rondo for violin and strings in A major, D438

“a beautifully warm and serene performance under David Zinman, with little touches of ornamentation in the solo clarinet part.” The Observer, 5th February 2012

“relish the Tonhalle Orchestra’s zesty, tradition-challenging performance under David Zinman, who treats the symphony as a turbulent tone-poem. The thrust of the first movement; the cheeky ornamentation of the second movement’s woodwind themes: all this will be hotly debated.” The Times, 28th January 2012 ****

*** The Independent, 17th February 2012

“Zinman's Mahler and Beethoven cycles with the Tonhalle exemplify the "third way" in historically informed performance practice. The trend continues in his ongoing Schubert cycle. The haze of foreboding is absent, the tempi brisk, with judicious decoration of the oboe and clarinet solos in the second movement.” The Independent on Sunday, 11th March 2012

“Zinman, ever ready to turn tradition on its head, stresses its Classical lineage, outgunning even such period practitioners as Mackerras and Norrington...in athletic swiftness and textural transparency. The Zurichers' string sonority is slender without being dessicated, phrasing is crisp and clear-cut, with Schubert's accents sharply pointed.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2012

“There's plenty to like about his approach including light, airy textures and an obvious relish of some of the works' drama. There are also some unusual features to this recording, not least the added ornamentation of the oboe and clarinet parts in the second movement which I found delightful...Zinman's way with the 'Unfinished' may be a shade too objective and cool-headed for my taste, but he's a musician whose recordings are always worth hearing.” International Record Review, June 2012

“These are exceptionally strong and positive performances, vividly recorded. When it comes to the two main works, Kennedy readily holds his own against all comers. His view of the Mendelssohn has a positive, masculine quality established at the very start. He may at first seem a little fierce, but fantasy goes with firm control, and the transition into the second subject on a descending arpeggio (marked tranquillo) is radiantly beautiful, the more affecting by contrast with the power of what has gone before.
Kennedy is unerringly helped by Jeffrey Tate's refreshing and sympathetic support. Though it's the English Chamber Orchestra accompanying, there's no diminution of scale. With full and wellbalanced sound, the piece even seems bigger, more symphonic than usual. In the slow movement Kennedy avoids sentimentality in his simple, songful view. The coda is always a big test in this work, and Kennedy's and Tate's reading is among the most powerful and exciting on record.
The Bruch brings another warm and positive performance, consistently sympathetic, with the orchestra once more adding to the power.
Kennedy's more than a match for rival versions, again bringing a masculine strength which goes with a richly expressive yet unsentimental view of Bruch's exuberant lyricism as in the central slow movement. Thoroughly recommended.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010