There are few string trios performed with any regularity in today’s standard chamber music repertoire, and 20th-century examples are likely least abundant. It is perhaps surprising but arguable, however, that Schoenberg’s singular String Trio could be considered a masterpiece of the genre. Paired with Hindemith’s trios from 1924 and 1933, Trio Zimmerman’s release provides a significant insight into 20th-century chamber music.

The recording opens with Hindemith’s First String Trio, in which the young composer fuses his emerging neoclassical sensibilities with an exploration of the contrapuntal and fugal textures of baroque music. Hindemith is said to have preferred his later Second Trio, which showcases some early experimentation in approach to tonality that would define his later career. Both are highly accessible pieces, and Trio...