Modern recordings aspire to perfection. A good producer will be alert to the smallest imperfections of tuning‚ ensemble and balance‚ and if the artists have enough confidence and expertise‚ a glitch­free result can be achieved. That’s the case here; even the notoriously tricky first allegro of K614 sounds beautiful‚ almost effortless‚ in all its details. But I do feel this extremely accomplished playing lacks a degree of character and spontaneity. Everything very pleasant and tasteful‚ but rarely did I feel enthralled or moved. To test these reactions I listened to the famous 1973 recordings led by Arthur Grumiaux. Their muted tone for the adagio of K174 has a soft‚ alluring quality that’s missing on the new disc‚ and their phrasing is strongly communicative in a way that makes the Villa Musica Ensemble sound offhand. Similarly‚ in K614’s finale‚ Grumiaux and his colleagues give the music a lift with their rhythmic poise and elegant melodic shaping; the result’s more captivating than the more brilliant Villa Musica performance. Even the virtuoso violin passages in‚ say‚ K614’s first movement have more flair as Grumiaux plays them. I don’t wish to exaggerate this criticism; the finesse of this group has its own charm‚ the recorded sound is beautifully clear and lifelike‚ and we’re given very complete versions of both quintets‚ including all repeats‚ plus alternative‚ earlier versions of the last two movements of K174. Yet‚ for me‚ there’s a vital spark missing.