It was not until 1965 that Hilda Jerea uncovered the not-quite-complete manuscript of Enescu’s A minor Piano Trio, composed in 1916 (the year of the Third Piano Suite). It is not clear from Zig-Zag’s booklet whether it is Jerea’s or Pascal Bentoiu’s later edition that is used here but what emerges is a beautifully balanced work in a medium notoriously difficult to balance, scarcely lower in quality than Ravel’s near-contemporary Trio, albeit without the latter’s gorgeous turn of melody. Enescu’s harmonic language is more fully Romantic in origin, the themes more angular and folk-inflected. One wonders why he didn’t finish it.

Nineteen years earlier, he did complete the Trio in G minor, which was premiered in 1898 and then sank without trace. This wonderfully ardent trio only returned to view a few years ago on rediscovery of the parts. Contemporaneous with his Op 1, the Poème roumain, it is a remarkably assured utterance for a 16-year-old. True, the personal voice is not audible – Brahms’s is, rather – but what impresses is the youth’s command of the medium.

The fine Sérénade lointaine for piano trio (1903) only came to light in 2004, thanks to Sherban Lupu. Trio Brancusi’s account is slightly more measured than their rivals on Indésens and they articulate it far more deftly. In the larger trios, the Brancusi audibly have the measure of the music and if they seem slightly more at home in the earlier G minor (they gave the UK premiere in London in March), their account of the A minor still compels attention. Heartily recommended.