The Edinburgh Quartet’s finely matched sound and firm sense of rhythm lead to a splendid performance of the Haydn. It’s a shame the first movement’s second repeat is missing, and I could wish that the Scherzo had more the feel of one-in-a-bar; otherwise Haydn’s inspired creativity is given full expression, with the serious parts as strongly portrayed as the lively, humorous passages.

In the Prokofiev, it’s not easy to find a style that successfully marries the work’s dissonant harmonies with its straightforward folk melodies. I feel the Pavel Haas Quartet, with their richer tone, more sustained style and more extreme dynamic range, achieve this more successfully than the present recording does. However, there’s much to be said for the Edinburgh Quartet’s refined approach to the Adagio, emphasising its spare, open sound and wistful melancholy.

The Shostakovich is a gift to any group with a sense of drama and able to project its powerful contrasts, and this performance certainly doesn’t disappoint. I’m impressed by the way these players have worked to produce the precise sound to transmit the emotional import of each phrase. This is especially noticeable in the first movement; by comparison, even the Emerson Quartet appear just to employ a ‘normal’ range of tone, slightly masking the music’s rawness and individuality. The second movement is incisive and uncompromising, and its Allegretto continuation manages to combine the skittishness of the music’s surface with the underlying atmosphere of fear and dread.