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A disappointingly small audience in the Barbican Hall last night witnessed Bernard Haitink and the LSO interpreting the Unfinished Symphony of Schubert, and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. That the hall was less than full is perhaps because this was the second of two performances of the same programme; Radio 3 will broadcast it on 22 October, and it may well subsequently appear on the LSO Live label as a CD. So there are plenty of opportunities to experience this offering: should one feel compelled to do so?

In the past Haitink’s Mahler has been well worth a trip to London, and it was the Lied rather than the Unfinished Symphony that persuaded me to book a ticket. Curiously, though, the Schubert made not only a more favourable impression last night, but also a deeper one. The LSO were, not at all surprisingly, classy throughout, with ensemble perfect at almost all times, and an impressively unanimous string tone. But they seemed to operate more naturally in the earlier work, able to explore its emotional range while still working as a unit. No doubt this partly reflects the relative technical demands of the two pieces, and Mahler’s tendency to express himself incompletely or fragmentarily (which I suppose one could as well say of the Unfinished Symphony, in one sense at least). Whatever the reason, the impressive Schubert boded well for the second half – though I spent much of the interval wondering how it’s possible to shift from playing Schubert to Mahler in the same programme and expect to do both to the highest level. It’s certainly not a comfortable change of register for the listener.

The soloists in the Mahler were Christiane Stotijn and Anthony Dean Griffey, the latter replacing an indisposed Robert Gambill. Both were, from my seat in Row D of the Circle, significantly underpowered against the orchestra, and as a consequence the Mahler was far less impactful than I was hoping and expecting. Perhaps the Barbican’s notoriously poor acoustic was to blame: but previous Mahler symphonies in the same hall have balanced without problems – even when the contralto Anna Larson was set at the back of the violas in the Third. What I could make out of the singing suggested that Stotijn was producing rather a sumptuous tone, and working hard to maintain some continuity in the long orchestral passages of her songs. Griffey on the other hand appeared to be overblowing, to not much effect. The Barbican now charges quite astonishing amounts for central stalls seats: possibly audience members in those rows will have had a better experience. Both soloists had microphones for the radio recording immediately in front of them, so I should imagine that Radio 3 listeners will feel differently about the balance.

As to the performance, I recall twenty years or so ago that Haitink seemed possessed by some sort of elemental spirit-being when conducting Mahler. Given his age it’s perhaps as well that he doesn’t engage in the sort of physical histrionics that he once did; and the valedictory air of much of the Lied certainly lends itself to a more measured approach. There didn’t seem to be a huge energy or weight to the interpretation, though – again perhaps this simply reflects the lack of projection (as far as my seat) of the singers.