Record companies have been falling over each other to bring out single discs or sets of piano trios during Mozart year. EMI offers a near-complete cycle, omitting the early Divertimento, K254, but including the wonderful Kegelstatt Trio for the (in 1786) unprecedented combination of clarinet, viola and piano. With Barenboim at the keyboard no Mozart performance is ever dull. And despite a recording that balances the violin too closely, sometimes giving a bright glare to Nikolaj Znaider’s normally sweet tone, there is plenty to enjoy in these performances: the bold sweep of K496’s opening Allegro, for instance, with Barenboim and Kyril Zlotnikov relishing Mozart’s spirited dialogues between keyboard and the newly emancipated cello; the mingled grace and swagger of the outer movements in the underestimated K548, full of typically deft touches of shading and timing; or the popular-style finale of the final trio, K564, where Barenboim and his accomplices choose an ideal, relaxed allegretto and give a lusty kick to the rhythms in the rustic waltz (from 2'37").

Elsewhere I liked the mobile tempo and gentle flexibility of phrase in the not-so-slow movement of K542, perfectly poised between an ancien régime gavotte and a Schubertian ‘walking’ andante. In contrast, the central movements of K502 and K548 are taken broadly, with molto espressivo phrasing that some will find ideally soulful, others, including me, over-romanticised. The Andante first movement of the Kegelstatt is also dangerously slow and ‘backward-leaning’ but this proviso apart, the performance is warmly sung, with a notably rich, throaty viola.

Hot on the heels of their Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns discs, the prolific Florestan offer three trios, including the two finest, K502 and K542. These are beautifully judged performances, generally fleeter of foot, airier of texture and more intimate in tone than those on EMI, with an ideal balance between the instruments (Richard Lester’s cello always a telling presence, even when his role is apparently incidental). In K542 the Florestan catch the peculiar Mozartian mix of radiance and passion in the outer movements without any of the excessive lingerings of the EMI performance.

The fast movements of the other two trios – the brilliant, concerto-like K502 and the ingenuous K564 – are just as delightful in their verve, their gleeful, quick-witted repartee and the vitality with which the players invest even routine-looking accompanying figuration. Occasionally, as in the finale of K564, Barenboim and friends are just that much more vivid. But I far prefer the Florestan’s flowing tempo and naturally expressive phrasing in K502’s Larghetto.

Among complete sets I would incline towards the affectionate recent performances by the Gryphon Trio (Analekta, 5/06) and the slightly more spirited Parnassus (MDG, 12/04). For those wanting K502 and K542 on a single disc, there is little to choose between the Florestan and the Vienna Piano Trio (Nimbus, A/99) in ebullience and spontaneous delight, though the Florestan find that much more tenderness in the first movement of K542 and choose a sprightlier, more lilting tempo in same trio’s Andante grazioso.