David Zinman is one of those conductors whose priorities – notably clean articulation and an avoidance of rhetorical overkill – make it easy to underestimate his achievements in core repertoire. Since taking charge of the Zurich orchestra in 1996 he has done a great deal to raise its international profile. First came a widely praised cycle of the Beethoven symphonies and now this Strauss project, conveniently programming the major orchestral works across seven CDs, a survey also newly available complete (Arte Nova 74321 98495-2). As is often the case with releases in the super-budget category, there are presentational flaws, but the attractive acoustics of the orchestra’s home base make for an orchestral sound that is lean, clear and not without warmth. That said, it would be unreasonable to look to Zurich for the lustre associated with Vienna, Berlin or Dresden. Rudolf Kempe’s classic analogue series, variously repackaged by EMI over the last 30 years and currently available as a nine-CD box, is likely to remain the choice of the cognoscenti. Meanwhile sales figures for Zinman’s Beethoven suggest that Arte Nova may be able to tap into a wider potential audience. Kempe’s selection is in any case overlapping rather than identical with his own.

Avoiding the grandiloquent manner suits some pieces better than others. Volume 5 contains straightforward readings of three works that might be expected to respond well to such treatment. There is even a measure of authenticity involved. The Oboe Concerto, composed at the suggestion of Philadelphia oboist Ray Still, was actually dedicated to the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, while Metamorphosen was first performed in its hall. Simon Fuchs copes admirably with the Concerto’s garrulous lines, but the low-key performance of Metamorphosen won’t hold your attention if you’re used to something more emotive from Karajan and his ilk. In the Four Last Songs, the critics have recently seemed to favour lighter, more intrinsically beautiful voices than Melanie Diener’s; hers is a big, slightly monochrome instrument. Again, pay a little more and competition is fierce indeed.

Move on to Volume 6 and you’ll find the left-hand-only Parergon (or ‘Afterthought’) zur Symphonia domestica, a rarity in any price bracket. The same eminently logical coupling was presented not long ago by André Previn and the Vienna Philharmonic (DG, 11/96 – nla) and if Zinman’s sonorities are inevitably less well upholstered, the performances are possibly more scrupulously prepared. The final volume brings together the oft-recorded Don Quixote with the less ubiquitous Op 7 Serenade plus an almost-rarity in the early Romanze for cello. All are worth sampling. But what if you find a good deal of this music the product of an incorrigible old note spinner? Will Zinman’s airy coolness actually convince you otherwise? At this price, you at least have the opportunity to find out.