Performances of conspicuous insight, pedigree and power. In the mighty Piano Quintet the Brodskys generate a consistently stimulating rapport with the admirable Martin Roscoe. Theirs is a marvellously cogent conception, ideally paced and splendidly integrated, possessing a dedication, sweep and ardour that betoken a very real identification with this repertoire. If you need convincing, try from the start of the first-movement development at fig 10 or 5'46", where the stormy dialogue attains an unstoppable momentum that thrillingly carries over into the recapitulation. At the same time, these articulate newcomers are arrestingly appreciative of the spookier elements (the strings’ mf accents at the work’s outset will make you sit up, that f chord a little later at six bars before fig 6 or 3'01" even more so), not to mention the piercing heartache and awestruck wonder that course through the ensuing Adagio centrepiece. Memorably touching, too, are those wistful reminiscences of earlier material at the heart of the finale.

A most distinguished display, then, and it’s preceded here by a keenly perceptive, shrewdly observant account of the String Quartet. Take the slow movement, where Elgar’s marking of Piacevole (‘pleasantly’) is played down in favour of something infinitely more sorrowful. Likewise, how persuasively the Brodskys gauge the ambivalent mood that pervades both outer movements. Above all, this is a profoundly thoughtful reading that makes one appreciate anew Elgar’s absolute command of the medium, while at the same time revelling in the music’s sinewy strength and often surprisingly bony textures.

The Potton Hall sound has realism, bloom and impact to spare, and there are excellent notes by Conor Farrington and the Brodsky Quartet’s cellist, Jacqueline Thomas. Even if you already own the outstanding Hyperion coupling of these masterworks featuring the Goldner String Quartet with Piers Lane (10/11), it’s worth acquiring this rewarding issue.