The Bamberg Symphony blew in from Germany, for two concerts at Avery Fisher Hall: one Friday night, the other Sunday afternoon. Each program consisted of Beethoven, Mahler, and Ligeti. This last composer, of course, is Gyorgy Ligeti, born in Transylvania in 1923. He is a special interest of Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the French pianist, who was soloist for both concerts. The conductor was Jonathan Nott, an Englishman: He has plenty of interest in Mr. Ligeti, too. Mr. Nott has led the Bambergers since 2000, and he is also a leader of the Ensemble Intercontemporain. This conductor is one of a clutch of young ones – or youngish ones – who suggest that the future may not be so bleak.

Friday night’s program began with Mr. Ligeti’s “Lontano” (perhaps “Far Away” – the Italian title has a beautiful mystery). Mr. Nott showed a thorough understanding of the score, and command of the orchestra. He seemed to achieve exactly what he wanted. Balances were apt, entrances were clean, dynamics were shrewd (and this piece depends heavily on dynamics). As if Mr. Aimard weren’t enough, Mr. Ligeti has an excellent champion in Maestro Nott.

Mr. Aimard then appeared for Beethoven’s Concerto No. 4 in G, Op. 58. The pianist has recorded all five Beethoven concertos with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, to wide acclaim. His performance of the G-major on Friday night was adequate, but disturbing (and not disturbing in the positive sense that musicians may strive for).

The piano’s opening measures were more staccato than you normally hear them, and also a little ungainly. Mr. Aimard seemed to be going, unsurprisingly, for a “period” feel. Later in the first movement, his playing was somewhat heavy, and still detached, but even. That is, the notes made sense in relation to one another. Mr. Aimard is a smart pianist, there is no denying that.

Unfortunately, he rushed faster passages, and committed other extremes: His ritards were way too attention-getting, and music-stopping. In some places, he might have been saying, “Look, here’s an important motive!” But all of Beethoven’s score is important.

The first-movement cadenza was unfamiliar to me, but I can report that it was long, and virtuosic – bravura-filled. The standard cadenza is so magnificent; it seems a shame to depart from it, even to escape familiarity. The orchestra followed Mr. Aimard’s cadenza with a horrible, horrible pizzicato entrance.

But on balance, the orchestra played admirably in this movement. Mr. Nott has very clear ideas, whether we agree with them or not – and he knows how to communicate those ideas to an orchestra. Speaking of clarity: Every line, every part, in the orchestra was exceptionally clear, almost to the point of annoyance. This would have been a first movement to remember, if not for those tempo fluctuations.

The second movement, Andante con moto, was probably the fastest on record. Beethoven says “con moto,” yes, but Messrs. Aimard and Nott abused the instruction. They were not only fast, they were brusque, cold – willfully different (meaning different from the norm). They probably thought they were being correct, originalist; they were also being unmusical. Say what you want about the second movement – one of the most exquisite things in all the literature – it should not be unfeeling.

So, at least the Rondo was bouncy and crisp, in that “period” style, right? No: It was rather heavy, sometimes a bit clumsy, sometimes inaccurate. And Mr. Aimard did some more of his rushing. He can do better by Beethoven’s Fourth.

After intermission, we had a piano recital – in that Mr. Aimard played six of Mr. Ligeti’s etudes (he would play six more on Sunday afternoon).Why? Why this intrusion of a piano recital in an orchestral concert? In any case, Mr. Aimard played those etudes, and played them well. Some of these pieces are, in fact, dedicated to him, an indication of the closeness between composer and pianist.

The etudes have French titles, such as “Automne a Varsovie” (“Autumn in Warsaw”) and “Desordre” (“Disorder”), and they show a keen mind. Some are enjoyable by anyone, and some seem to reflect Mr. Ligeti’s own pleasure in a private musical math. Mr. Aimard played the six etudes with assured technique and interpretive poise. “Cordes a vide” (literally “Empty Chords”) provided Debussyan beauty.

Then the orchestra retook the stage, to play Mahler’s “Todtenfeier” (“Funeral Rite”), which sounds a lot like the first movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. (It is an early version of it.) Mr. Nott’s account was stunningly taut, clear (of course), and “Modern” – and yet the music was not unplumbed. That is, it did not lose its profundity in Mr. Nott’s scrubbing and tightening. Mahler’s radiant moments were wonderfully radiant. The orchestra was largely adept, although there were bad bobbles in the winds toward the end.

And then this very odd program ended with an overture, Beethoven’s “Leonore” Overture No. 3, Op. 72a, one of the several he composed for “Fidelio,” an opera many years in the making (or in the finalizing, one should say). Mr. Nott’s account was not so fine as his account of the Mahler: It was less accurate, less taut, less tense. Less sweeping. And yet it was creditable: The racing strings leading into the final section were precise, although that final section itself could have been jauntier, slightly slower, less blunt – and more exciting.

You often wonder why an out-of-town orchestra comes to New York, to play some mediocre concert. (And usually that concert purveys the standard repertoire.) On Friday night, you didn’t have to wonder why the orchestra was there: It, and its dynamic conductor, truly had something to give.