Here is a worthwhile survey of string trios that are more usually heard as part of composer compilations. The Ensemble Epomeo are persuasive advocates for each piece, and their hearts, brains and fingers are certainly in the right place. The trouble is that competition is fierce. Turn to any of the comparative versions listed below and the difference in terms of weight of tone, range of colour and sheer communicative energy is immediately apparent. Such performances haunt the imagination long after they are over, whereas the Ensemble Epomeo merely command respect. I was certainly glad to encounter Kurtág’s frequently Bartókian Signs, Games and Messages but even here I can imagine others upscaling the Epomeo’s relish and attack into something more memorable. For a handy compilation of modern string trios, the new disc can be welcomed. But given that Avie’s recording quality lacks a degree of warmth and bloom, it’s hard to put it more enthusiastically than that.