New Yorkers of a certain age will remember a golden time when the symphonies of the Dane Carl Nielsen were often performed under the baton of Leonard Bernstein. Nielsen produced six magnificent orchestral essays. However, being Northern European but not Germanic, his works have never been included in the mainstream repertoire (the same experience haunted the brilliant Swede Franz Berwald in the 19th century). On Thursday afternoon at Trinity Church, the Soha Woodwind Quintet offered Nielsen’s lively work for their particular instrumentation.

The group (Alicia Kravitz, flute, Steven Kramer, oboe, David Malito, clarinet, Katharine Caliendo, horn, and Dirk Wels, bassoon) made up in interpretive spirit what it lacked in technical proficiency. One of the charms of the Nielsen is that the instrumentalists almost assume characterizations, and this ensemble captured that particular magic. In one of the variations of the final movement there is a rather animated argument between bassoon and clarinet. In this performance, Mr. Wels arose confrontationally toward its end and looked menacingly at Mr. Malito. Considering the overall good nature of the piece, this was an effect I am sure the composer would have loved.

The hymnlike theme of this last movement was beautifully intoned and the faster passages demonstrated a clear definition of line, so vital to this type of 1920s neoclassicism.

Also on the bill of fare were the six bagatelles of Gyorgi Ligeti, whose inclusion led to a rather amusing incident.

Although the Ligeti was presented before the Nielsen, a work in three movements, the printed program listed it as coming afterward. Therefore, when the third bagatelle, Ligeti’s Allegro Grazioso, was concluded, the audience, whose music history skills may have been a little fuzzy but whose counting abilities were strong, applauded vigorously. The ensemble responded with good grace but somewhat confused looks. Obviously, the musicians had not yet seen the handout announcing the order of the pieces.

As the other three Ligeti pieces unfolded, I wondered whether the bulk of the crowd had thought the second offering, Ligeti’s extremely dissonant and virtually arrhythmic Lamentoso, was indeed the Menuet of Nielsen. If so, did they assume that the great Dane was conjecturing as to how they might dance this courtly figure on Mars?

There were some excellently engineered passages in both works, including the piccolo playing of Ms. Kravitz and the lyricism of Mr. Kramer. Ms. Caliendo negotiated some very difficult lines with seeming ease. But the decision to end the recital with an arrangement of the “Barber of Seville” Overture proved to be a tactical error.

Joachim Linckelmann is currently the flutist of the pocket orchestra freiburg — they use the lowercase, presumably because of their own small size — and has made a living reducing orchestral scores for wind quintet. However, after so much blowing — there had also been a Mozart arrangement on the program — the Soha players seemed simply out of gas. The famously ebullient Rossini melodies were badly slurred and intonation quickly became ragged. It hardly seemed this was the same group that had put in such a fine effort up to this point. I’m guessing that Ms. Caliendo’s lip was pretty much gone by this time as there had been no intermission to help restore it. Last impressions are unfortunately lasting ones, but let’s remember instead the fine musicianship that got us all here.

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Charlie Berg was fortunate to live in the intellectual and cultural capital of the world. His Vienna, Austria, in 1908, brought together many of the men who would shape the new century. Freud and Einstein, Kafka and Klimt, Herzl and Schnitzler, Mahler and Webern all lived in the same city at the same time. Charlie, with utmost confidence, submitted the piano sonata of his much more timid brother, Alban, to the great teacher Arnold Schoenberg. Both sonata and student were received with enthusiasm. The first piece that young Alban produced for his new professor was featured Thursday evening in a concert by the Minetti Quartet at the Austrian Cultural Forum.

The musicians of the Minetti were making their New York debut and study with those of the renowned Viennese ensemble known as the Alban Berg Quartet, a venerable foursome that has recently announced its impending retirement, and took only seconds to impress with a superb sound. Positioned antiphonally, they opened with a surprisingly mature reading of the Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2 of Haydn.

What was most impressive from 20-somethings was the delicious combination of depth and brightness of timbre. First violinist Maria Ehmer possesses a brilliant tone, polished and campanilian, but also full of character. She could conceivably leave her mates and pursue a career as a soloist if she is so inclined. The contrast between her refulgent sound in the Moderato and cellist Leonhard Roczek’s amber hues in the Adagio was deeply moving.

The performance of the Berg was stunning. Second violinist Anna Knopp introduced the main theme with electrifying intensity, leading to a darker and richly resonant reprise by violist Markus Huber. This is a young person’s music and the group dazzled not only with precise enunciations and perfectly coordinated pizzicato, but also wih an infectious exuberance. Mr. Roczek dug in so deeply, it sounded as if his cello might shatter from such quivering vibration. I have never heard such a shimmering and accurate rendition. This was music making of the highest order.

Also on the program was a piece simply titled Twelve Tone Music by Josef Matthias Hauer. Who was he? Well, he claimed to have invented the dodecaphonic system prior to and independently of Schoenberg. Many listeners may be surprised that even one person, let alone two, would claim responsibility for this achievement, but one thing is clear. Schoenberg created great art; Hauer simply applied mathematical formulae.

Of course, to sustain this level of excellence requires the right tools and the Minetti are the beneficiaries of some outstanding instruments. The violins are a Guadagnini from 1774 and a Lorenzini from 1756. The viola is a Cremonese Ceruti from around 1810 and the cello was built by Martin Stoss in 1818. These astonishing young people are the right owners for the present and if they stay together as a group — and considering their age and high level of talent, this is a big “if” — expect great things from the Minetti Quartet.