Period-instrument versions of Schubert’s piano trios are still relatively thin on the ground, so any new one is worth careful scrutiny. And for this one Jan Vermeulen plays a particularly fine fortepiano, with a highly distinct variety of hues throughout its range. That these players intend to put their mark on these two iconic trios is evident from the very outset of the B flat Trio, D898, with a keenness to reveal every shift of dynamics and rhythm: hairpins and little hesitations abound. But this is a big movement both emotionally and physically – it needs also to have a sense of purpose and direction alongside the detail, and that’s where my reservations arise. For all the highly reactive playing, I’m not convinced that these musicians reveal the bigger picture. And there’s a feeling of claustrophobia that arises from sound that is close and slightly congested.

The slow movement continues in a similar vein: just turn to Capuçon/Braley for a far greater grasp of line and structure, which helps to create a performance that is ineffably more moving. If the Scherzo is more successful, we’re back to the same problems in the finale. Once again, in the effervescent Capuçon/Braley reading there’s a stronger sensation of letting the music speak for itself (which is not a result of doing less but of doing it more subtly). If it’s period-instrument sound that appeals, La Gaia Scienza are daringly raw and unafraid to make this music sound radical and fresh, with evident relish for the contrasting instrumental timbres. In the slow movement of the E flat Trio, D929, their approach is not that different from the new recording, playing up the contrast between the trudging gait of the keyboard and the emoting of the cello line, though Vermeulen is arguably just too plain here and ends up sounding a tad clumpy. For greater warmth, try the Florestan or Capuçon/Braley. And in the finale (in which they choose Schubert’s longer original version), their by now somewhat wearisome hesitations and accentuation rule them out of play, to my mind, once and for all.