Divertimento? Hardly‚ according to the Leopold Trio. If a first movement of dramatic gesture‚ of marked switches between tension and relaxation presage something out of the ordinary‚ the Second confirms that it is so. The tempo here isn’t Adagio as specified; it’s a sombre­toned‚ gravely paced largo that diverts attention away from seeing the work simply as a piece of entertainment. The playing of the coda alone exemplifies the skill of these musicians at balancing parts‚ grading dynamics and timing climaxes. That’s not all. The two Menuets are treated as differently styled pieces. Usually‚ they are both taken either in a stately three­in­a­bar (Grumiaux) or a fast one­in­a­bar (Kremer). The Leopold are swift in the first Menuet and ease off slightly for the Trio; but the second is portrayed as a graceful dance‚ matching its Ländler­like first Trio. And the repeats in this Menuet the second time round are played softly as instructed. The Grumiaux omit the repeats; Kremer & co half­heartedly obey the instruction. So‚ profound thinking and secure technique from the Leopold‚ though Thorsen occasionally becomes a little mechanical when note values increase to semiquavers (in parts of the finales of both pieces) or demisemiquavers (in variation four of K563’s Andante). Doubtless‚ greater experience will rectify the mild discomfort shown in these places. Right now‚ though‚ it is the striking absence of slickness in the interpretations that puts this disc on a very high plane. The recording over­separates the instruments but the sound itself is realistic.