Kreisler, Zimbalist, Ysaÿe: String Quartets, Harmonies du soir – review

This curiosity links three virtuoso performer-composers, all friends, who in their day dominated the concert platform. Here, rather than flashy violin showpieces, we have examples of their work for string quartet and small orchestra. It's a positive festival of portamenti and queasy chromaticism, leaving the listener feeling more than a little seasick. The Fine Arts Quartet play the Kreisler and Zimbalist quartets with admirable dedication to authentic performance but the poor Philharmonic Orchestra of Europe must have been ill for days after swooping their way through Ysaÿe's Harmonies du soir . Quick, nurse – the screens.