Mozart’s piano quartets, sharply contrasted with one another, are among the finest of his chamber works, with the G minor tonality of K478 bringing depths that that key always seems to draw from the composer. This new performance from the Nash Ensemble, like the fine earlier version with the Beaux Arts Trio (Philips, 12/84 – nla), brings out that weight of feeling and insight, and like that earlier version the hero of the performance is the pianist. Yet where the Beaux Arts’ Menahem Pressler plays with weight as well as extreme clarity, this new version has a better, more just balance, so that the sparkling clarity of Ian Brown at the piano is a constant delight. His phrasing and articulation are a model of sensitivity, with a faithful piano sound. He is partnered by an exceptionally strong trio of string players – violinist Marianne Thorsen, the outstanding viola player Lawrence Power and the long-established cellist Ian Watkins.

In the Rondo finale of the G minor the speed chosen by the Nash players for what is marked as an Allegro moderato is lighter and faster than that of their rivals, yet the rapidly repeated notes are just as dazzlingly clear, with ornamentation delicately pointed. The E flat Quartet, K493, brings textures that are more orchestral, but again the Nash Ensemble performance is lighter and in the central slow movement more tenderly expressive. In the finale too the Nash play with extra sparkle, with rhythms jauntily sprung. They are far more charming than their Beaux Arts rivals, and in both the rapid triplet figuration is a delight to the ear. There have been many fine versions of this favourite coupling but this new offering stands among the finest.