Mendelssohn’s music for cello and piano runs the full gamut, from simple lyrical pieces to large-scale Beethovenian sonata structures. This poses a challenge for his interpreters, which Macleod and Sturfält meet triumphantly whenever the music is lively or agitated. Sturfält tosses off the many quick passages with nonchalant ease, and Macleod finds just the right passionate tone for the more intensely emotional moments, for example the minor-key episode in the Variations concertantes. Together, they are adept at keeping a sense of momentum, whether the music is energetic or flowing more calmly.

The duo is recorded quite closely; this, combined with Sturfält’s insistence on clarity, gives, in places, an unsuitably dry quality to the sound, at the opening of the Second Sonata, for instance. And where Mendelssohn creates a nocturnal atmosphere – in the second movements of both sonatas – the effect seems rather matter-of-fact. In the Op 45 Andante the three-note motif isn’t phrased away to form a sigh, and in both sonatas I found myself wishing that Sturfält could find a softer, more delicate touch. Similarly, those mysterious Mendelssohnian moments where everything quietens for a moment (as in the coda of the Second Sonata’s first movement) sound rather perfunctory.

Despite these quibbles, the performances are enjoyable and invigorating. Marie Macleod has a fine way of spinning a legato line; her lyrical melodies all sound warm and appealing. And the wonderful, Bach-inspired Adagio of Op 58 is played with inspired conviction: eloquent cello recitative, and the chorale intoned with magnificent spread chords.