There were smiles all round even before the Mozart. To see the four musicians walk onstage beaming and finally mask-free was refreshing to say the least.

But equally refreshing was the smart move for violinists Kitty Cheung and Kiann Chow and violist Ringo Chan to perform standing and relatively close together. This contributed no end to the compactness of their sound.

Mozart’s String Quartet No. 17, also called “The Hunt”, was crisp and sprightly. The jaunty opening in parallel thirds sparkled in the hands of both violinists as they aptly set the chase in motion. Like an alert pair of hunting horns, their rollicking 6/8 rhythm was rock solid and left no one guessing from where the piece’s nickname was derived.

The almost-blink-and-miss “Menuetto and Trio” – unconventionally a second movement in this quartet – chugged along brilliantly, with plenty of lighthearted fun from the players.

It was in the more substantial “Adagio”, however, where the quartet really shone, showing lovely lyrical poise. Chan and cellist Eric Yip set up a cushioned, yet forward-moving, pulsating bass for Kitty Cheung’s tender and dreamlike motif to hover above, which she did in style, with a finely nuanced violin sound that was both silky and dexterous.

When the initial boisterousness returned in the finale, the playing was just as energetic and engaging. Chan’s viola sound was particularly full and rich, something he often varied to great effect by turning outwards to the audience to enhance his own sound projection.

As the final chase ensued, each instrument took on a character of its own, almost reminiscent of the vocal quartets in Mozart’s operas.

The shift from Mozart’s clean, classical architecture to the Bohemian lavishness of the Dvorak quintet without an intermission in between was a veritable sea change.

Here, the ensemble playing soon took on a more “soloistic” approach. Yip’s cello blossomed in his lyrical opening, and as the “Allegro” took shape, more tension in the violin sound was noticeable as the themes were developed by both violinists above the rich overtones of Rachel Cheung’s piano.

Perhaps Yip’s cello would have been better placed on the outside (as is customary) for the quintet. While his fine and delicate sound came through in the lyrical passages, some of the accompaniment – his pizzicato for example – was lost in the lush piano textures.

The quicker and happier interludes of the middle sections were delightful all round.

While the furiousness of the “Scherzo” – based on the fast Bohemian folk dance known as a furiant – flirted with derailment, it also generated plenty of excitement.

The subsequent slower trio section saw both Cheungs expertly alternating the main melodies in a fabulous violin and piano interplay.

The coda tranquillo passage was nothing short of sublime: super hushed, chorale-like and treated with extreme tenderness by the ensemble.

Enthusiastic and well-deserved applause prompted an interesting encore: a quasi- deconstructed version of the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, with the quartet taking on the orchestral parts and Rachel Cheung, positioned behind them, a well-integrated soloist.

“Romer String Quartet & Rachel Cheung”, Beare’s Premiere Music Festival, City Hall Concert Hall, Hong Kong. Reviewed: January 9.