QUATUOR Diotima have become a regular fixture on York’s musical calendar. On Wednesday night they brought their understated, light style to a programme of Schubert, Dutilleux and Beethoven.

The rhythmic-unison octaves that open Schubert’s Quartet No. 2 in C major were played with just the right weight; the quieter figurations that followed, delivered with the quartet’s trademark effortlessly light sound.

The solemn second movement was presented with an astonishing level of control and elegant pacing, as Yun-Peng Zhao’s first violin floated atop the delicate accompaniment. The final two movements seemed to be over before they began, as the quartet’s mesmerizing performance continued.

Henri Dutilleux’s Ainsi La Nuit is a multi-movement work presented in a single span. Its movements break into smaller sections, presenting the challenge of communicating its continuity. At home in contemporary repertoire, however, Quatuor Diotima faced no problems with this complex, changeable work.

The presence of Bartók could be heard in some of the melodic language, while the influence of Webern was felt in many unusual sonorities. The quartet accounted for the work’s precedents without ever cheapening Dutilleux’s own voice.

Beethoven’s Quartet in F major, Opus 135, finished the evening. Despite being his final work in the genre, it features a classical four-movement structure and concise development. The luminous sound of the first half was carried forward in this performance, rendering this ‘late’ work in a truly classical light.

In this, their 20th year, Quatuor Diotima were at the best they have sounded since first visiting York.