Balanchine’s “Mozartiana” was created in 1981 as a stunning showcase for Suzanne Farrell, its choreography a vehicle for Ms. Farrell’s phrasing, which was always extremely free; she liked to jump ahead, or lag behind, and play catch-up with herself. Dancing Ms. Farrell’s role in “Mozartiana,” on Wednesday night at New York City Ballet, Wendy Whelan preserved the Farrell-esque idiosyncrasies inscribed in the choreography itself but performed it with a lighter, more gossamer touch than Ms. Farrell often employed.

In “Mozartiana,” Balanchine created a contrarian pas de deux that knocked sideways classical strictures. It begins with solos for men and woman, in which the sexes alternately dance to the “Theme et Variations” of Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 4. The “variations” musical material is mostly given to the ballerina’s role, which was appropriate for Ms. Farrell, who might be called the Billie Holiday of ballet. Only after dancing their individual variations do the leads dance together (rather than in unison), for a give-and-take dialogue.

In the ballet’s opening “Pregiera” section, Ms. Whelan’s moved her arms with an exquisite slowness, in appeal, invocation, and benediction. In her pas de deux with Nikolaj Hübbe, her timing let the role’s unpredictable rests and punctuations seem as though she was improvising the material as she went along.

The role of the ballerina’s partner in “Mozartiana” was first danced by Peter Martins and is made to order for a man trained at the school of Denmark’s Royal Ballet, emphasizing flurries of little jumps and constant directional shifts. Wednesday night, Mr. Hübbe, another Dane, gave a bouncy, lithe performance with precise pirouettes. Dancing the “Gigue,” solo, Daniel Ulbricht seized upon the role’s jesterlike irreverence.

Mauro Bigonzetti’s “In Vento,” created for last year’s Diamond Project, returned to the repertory as the middle ballet of Wednesday night’s program, “Tradition and Innovation.” “In Vento” is an endlessly prolonged sigh, a, uncoiling reverie about primordial genesis, existential angst and alienation, and intermittent consolation. Mr. Bigonzetti’s sheaf of philosophical ideas translates into movement that is slitherng, wending, and occasionally spasmodic. Maria Kowroski, Benjamin Millepied, Tiler Peck, and Edward Liaang were unflagging in their dedication to the choreographer’s ideas.

This program concluded with Balanchine’s romantic “Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2,” originally called “Ballet Imperial” and performed as a something of a tribute to St. Petersburg when Balanchine created it in 1941. Full bore might be called an understatement for Sofiane Sylve’s performance in the ballerina lead. She shot like a torpedo through the ballet, stampeded through her fist solo to the piano cadenza. A little more finesse and an occasional surrender to the valiant partner, Charles Askegard, would have been in order. As always, though, some of her supercharged prowess provided exciting moments, such as the saut de basques in the finale.

Leading the pas de trois, Teresa Reichlen performed all of the steps — accomplishment enough for a woman as tall as she is, dancing steps intended for a more compact dancer. But some of the overarching momentum was missing. And Ms. Reichlen didn’t seem quite sure whether she preferred the more imperial or the more romantic version of the material: Had she used “Ballet Imperial” as her stylistic template, she should have kept her arms in more classical positions and employed a more oblique epaulement; if she was wanted to give herself entirely to the romanticized fervor of Balanchine’s revision, she needed to make more supple use of her torso and attack the role with more abandon. She thus wound up giving an inconclusive performance.

This program repeats January 23 (Lincoln Center, 212-721-6500).