As recently as 1993 the Schubert Ensemble recorded Schumann’s two most popular chamber works (Hyperion, 11/96). And as three of the players remain – pianist William Howard, viola-player Douglas Paterson and cellist Jane Salmon – it might seem surprising to return to the repertory. In fact, comparisons between the two performances make it quite clear why the players wanted to put down their second thoughts on disc.

From the start the new performances are a degree less rigid, less strictly a tempo than the old. In 1993 the players were much more reluctant to relax into a more expansive tempo for second subject themes, as they do now in almost every movement. The overall timing reflects that. Although only two minutes longer, the new disc shows how that makes a great deal of difference when rhythms in fast movements are sprung that degree more persuasively, giving a sparkle to the music; and in the funeral march of the second movement of the Quintet there is a hushed tension, a sense of presence, that was far less evident before in a more external reading.

In other words, the new disc conveys the clear feeling of live communication as against a perfect studio run-through. Make no mistake, the earlier version is still very enjoyable, a fair competitor at mid-price for the vintage Beaux Arts version (Philips, 5/76R), which interpretatively stands somewhere between the two, but in a comparison there is every advantage in the new ASV disc, particularly when the recording is just as well balanced and vivid as the old.