In Italian it means “amusement”. Apply it to music and “divertimento” could mean light or recreational. For the Hermitage String Trio such dictionary definitions are not the stuff of K563. Nor are they for the Leopold String Trio. Each group in its way probes beyond the printed page. Disbelief in the definitions is shared but is expressed somewhat differently. In the first movement, for instance, Mozart asks that both halves be repeated. The Leopold repeat only the first half but don’t compromise stature. The Hermitage follow instructions and the extra length adds weight to a more intimate style. Tempo is similar, approach dissimilar; but these musicians don’t compromise stature either.

Dissimilarity is sharper in the second movement. The Leopold’s performance, slower than Adagio, is long-breathed, the high emotional horizon reached through a drawn-out intensity. The Hermitage follow another route to the heights. Their pacing is faster, and stirring power is evoked through arching paragraphs shaped by subtle rubatos. Dynamics undulate as phrases are stretched then released back into tempo, elastic – perhaps rhapsodic too – but always disciplined.

The variances in interpretation are at their most marked here, as indeed is the variance in temperament. If the Leopold veer towards intellectual rigour, the Hermitage prefer an unstudied impulse. Check out the final Allegro in 6/8 time and also the Preludes and Fugues. The nub of the matter is that re‑creativity is complementary. A single choice cannot be justified. So why not experience two views of one unquestioned masterpiece?