Michael Tilson Thomas conducts a bold Mahler 3 at the Barbican

It has been heartening to see Michael Tilson Thomas return to conducting after an absence due to challenging health issues (he has had treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer). This year he has reunited with two of the orchestras with which he has been most closely allied, first in San Francisco and now in London.

In both cities he chose to conduct Mahler. Having Leonard Bernstein, the postwar champion of Mahler’s music, as a mentor means Mahler has always been a major presence in Tilson Thomas’s three decades-plus with the London Symphony Orchestra, where he is now conductor laureate.

For this emotional return he chose Symphony No 3, the longest and most panoramic. It was a notable performance for two reasons: the first was the bold playing of the LSO, which set forth with cracking whacks on the timpani and striking wind and brass interjections of primary colours; and the second was its unusual slowness, opening up grand symphonic vistas, but sometimes at very drawn-out speeds.

The opening section had the feel of a slow movement about it, which Mahler’s description “Summer marches in” does not really invite, but shudderingly deep sounds shook the ground to great effect, as though the earth was rousing itself from primeval darkness. On these imposing foundations Tilson Thomas was constructing a grand edifice, given voice later by mezzo Alice Coote, humble but also profound in the fourth movement’s setting of Nietzsche.

Then came a puzzling break before the finale — from what Tilson Thomas indicated to the audience and his packing up of his score, it seemed he thought this was a rehearsal and did not plan to go further — but when the music started again, it quickly recaptured the spiritual mood. Conductors with limited experience of Mahler tend to fuss over this music to little avail, but after a lifetime Tilson Thomas knows just to let it breathe and sing. The performance ended with a standing ovation. He is due to return in the autumn for concerts to mark his 80th birthday.

★★★★☆

barbican.org.uk

At Wigmore Hall, a day-long “modern medieval” odyssey presented three recitals of contemporary music with a medieval twist. Never short of a spirit of adventure, the Jack Quartet included a generous clutch of world and UK premieres.

In a blend of old and new, Gabriella Smith’s Carrot Revolution (2015) skimmed through hints of Pérotin and Joni Mitchell, Bach and The Who, giving the impression of a single concept forged with high-energy determination. In Cenk Ergün’s Sonare, dating from the same year, a swarm of wasps rarely let up as its whirling patterns repeated in constant variation, taking flight on an unwavering trajectory. Each of the four short works in the first half — also including Austin Wulliman’s Dave’s Hocket and Morton Feldman’s Structures — offered concentrated, focused argument.

So, in its own way, did Liza Lim’s String Creatures, getting its first UK performance. This starts out from percussive effects and pushes several of the players to anguished grating sounds in its search for expression, “diagrams of grief”, in the composer’s words, that challenge the ear. With its longer duration this work felt more diffuse, holding the attention less well. This programme was a hard listen with nothing much that sought to be liked, but the expert Jack Quartet can be relied upon for the latest in cutting-edge music.

★★★☆☆

wigmore-hall.org.uk