Dvořák’s masterly piano quartets find the augmented London Bridge Trio (Gary Pomeroy takes the viola line) offering sensitive, well-integrated readings with no intrusive mannerisms and consistently sound musical judgement. The E flat Quartet, Op 87, is the ‘biggie’, a work cast along symphonic lines, its expressive world reminiscent of the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies (that latter was completed during the same year, 1889).

Taut, obdurate and resilient, the opening signals storms in the offing, though the dancing transition to the lyrical second subject marks a significant change of mood. Happily, all four players lean towards a telling sequence of tonal contrasts, though the desperately pleading central oration – led by the piano (3'32") – would have benefited from a more doggedly emphatic string presence. Try by way of a comparison the Ax-Stern-Laredo-Ma recording (3'36" on their Sony Classical version). Then again, the London Bridge Trio do wonderfully well in the movement’s mysterious coda (starting at around 7'11"), with its shimmering string tremolandos and aching modulations.

The slow movement is a model of touchingly sincere expression (note the gentle way violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen wafts in at 1'18"). The lilting third movement wears a suave demeanour and the dancing finale occupies a place somewhere between the campfire and the tea room, though various darker asides remind us of the work’s considerable scale.

The earlier D major Quartet sits, opus-wise, between the Serenade for Strings and the Fifth Symphony (all three works date from 1875, when Dvořák was in his early thirties) and inhabits a parallel world filled with sunshine. Models include Schubert, whose sizeable B flat Trio was a probable influence. With exposition repeat (as here), the work weighs in at around 33 minutes, Waley-Cohen again distinguishing herself with restrained expressiveness and just a hint of portamento (specifically in the first movement’s exposition). An excellent CD and definitely a viable admission ticket to a musical world that is both accessible and musically substantial.