It was as if they had just discovered the joy, elegance and exuberance of the score, and were now anxious to communicate their discovery to us, their playing evoking an effortless fluency and grace.

A work abounding in melody came in stark contrast with Roberto Gerhard's First Quartet, the concept of atonality and serial techniques shaping his thought process, the programme note's assertion that it is "easy to enjoy" surely aimed at bringing a wry smile from the audience.

Interesting sounds are the entry point to his musical world, the performers faced with the task of bringing together the most elaborate note patterns, a task the Endellion players fulfilled without drawing attention to the difficulties therein.

The return to the warm lyricism of the Brahms second quartet was lovingly portrayed in an account that used a very wide dynamic range.

It perfectly captured those moments of intimate confidence in the Andante, while taking the outer movements with a bold sweep that was ideally underpinned by the exceptionally fine viola and cello.