On Thursday he conducts Franck's Symphony in D minor, the overture to Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" and the New York premiere of "Alternative Energy" by Mason Bates, a gifted young composer who is in residence with the orchestra.
The fact that the new suite began in B minor (with the Overture from BWV 1067) and ended in D (with the Gavottes I and II from BWV 1068) might have violated Baroque convention, but it was fully in line with Mahler's personal enthusiasm for ascending, minor-to-major key schemes, seen, for example, in the "Resurrection" Symphony of 1895 (which climbs from C minor to E flat).
The most striking playing of the evening, in fact, came from the two oboists, Susanne Regel and Wolfgang Dey, whose colorful interaction with the ensemble's strings enlivened a Telemann Septet in E minor, a lively Heinchen Overture in G and a Zelenka vocal, "Barbara dira effera".
So, there is money to protect the Conservative party's weak flank (health); there is money allocated for infrastructure projects heavily weighted to marginal seats; and there are overtures to minor parties that might be useful if there is another hung parliament come the May election.
A trill-happy three-movement Overture in G minor by Giovanni Battista Sammartini followed Vivaldi's Concerto for Cello, Strings and Continuo in D minor (RV 407); the cellist Werner Matzke captured its alluring interplay of lyricism and furious, brushy virtuosity.
The effect made its first appearance in the opening work, Telemann's Overture in F minor (TWV 55:fl).
The program includes Bach's "French" Overture in B minor (BWV 831) and Chopin's Four Ballades.
King Stephen is among Beethoven's minor works, and only its overture is performed with any frequency today.
Also on the program are Mozart's G minor symphony and Beethoven's Overture to "The Ruins of Athens".
There are also the rare Overture in A minor and two songs from Twelfth Night, resonantly delivered by baritone Waltteri Torikka.
The six English Suites, which Mr. Schiff played on Wednesday, and the six French Suites, which he added on Saturday (with the French Overture in B minor), are all similar in style: French, by and large.
