Not quite the surgery without anaesthetic as of later years. But WoO37 for flute, bassoon and piano from the teenage Beethoven isn’t exactly tame either. Glimmerings of the future arise in markings as specific as pianissimo and fortissimo, the stress fp used often in the G minor Adagio. The Oslo Philharmonic Chamber Group narrow the gap between the extremes of volume and blunt the full potential for expression. Excellent playing cannot compensate for a disinclination to read beyond the notes. An emphasis on entertainment is uppermost, which also filters into the first two movements of the Op 25 Serenade for flute, violin and viola. For the rest of this work, though, the musicians are less constrained. Yet they don’t go as far as the Gaudier Ensemble, whose members offer nimbler mobility, greater dynamic differentiation and finer tonal gradation.

Marion Scott called this Serenade ‘delicious, a work fit for a fairy’, but considered Op 11 ‘dull’ in comparison. A century ago Paul J Bekker went further, pronouncing it ‘very second-rate’. Leif Arne Pedersen (clarinet), Bjørn Solum (cello) and Gonzalo Moreno (piano) introduce a decisive refutation. What impresses is a mutual understanding to engage in an authoritative message, every detail carefully worked within a largeness of design; and exemplified in the emotional weight given the Adagio, Pedersen and Solum con espressione as required, Moreno tactfully supportive. Assertive, too, when leading the music out of E flat minor into E major, a remarkable modulation, one of many throughout the work; and all given due worth in a remarkably intelligent interpretation.