It was likely that Chandos, given its extensive coverage of his orchestral output, would turn to the string quartets of Mieczysław Weinberg – for which the Transylvanian-based Arcadia Quartet, following on from their warmly received Bartók set (11/18), seem eminently suited.

Surprisingly, given its several recordings as the First Chamber Symphony, the Second Quartet (1940) is only now receiving a follow-up to Quatuor Danel. Less impulsive in its ingratiating first movement, the Arcadia are also less concerned with projecting expressive contrasts in the Adagio – its eruptive central section added in 1986, as was the quizzical Intermezzo, elegantly realised here. The finale lacks the Danel’s energy but rounds off the work decisively enough.

The Fifth Quartet (1945) confirms Weinberg’s intently evolving mastery. The Arcadia have the measure of its wistfully ambivalent Melodia, but the Danel probe the sardonic Humoreska and propulsive Scherzo more completely. The present group capture the musing spirit and textural sparsity of the Improvisation; and while the equivocal Serenata is best heard in the Dragon Quartet’s tensile reading, the Arcadia draw it into the whole with satisfying cohesion.

The Eighth Quartet (1959) is the first in one movement; its unfolding from ruminative Adagio to wistful Andante and back intensified by the intervention of a limpid Allegretto and brusque Allegro, before the initial calm is regained. The Arcadia convey this with formal inevitability and expressive poise, but the Silesian Quartet’s timbral asperity can be more plangent and the Danel’s withdrawal to near stasis makes the final pages better anticipate the quartets to come.

Swings and roundabouts, then, as to specific works. What cannot be denied is the immaculate ensemble of the Arcadia – which, along with a well-nigh perfect balance and David Fanning’s insightful notes, makes this first instalment a tempting proposition for those new to the cycle.