In a substantial concert at the Barbican Centre on 15 February 2013 the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ilan Volkov, presented the British debut of Schubert Fantasia (1978, revised 1989) – senior German composer Dieter Schnebel's subtle reconstruction of one of Schubert's most original piano sonata movements – and the first performance of David Sawer's dramatic scena for mezzo-soprano and baritone soloists and orchestra, Flesh and Blood (2012). Both premières lasted around 25 minutes. Sawer's new work made a satisfying contrast with its Schubertian surroundings. But an even more rewarding, and certainly more congruent, companion to the Schnebel might have been Luciano Berio's Rendering for Orchestra (1990), which reworks the fragments of Schubert's unfinished Tenth Symphony in D major, D936a into a three-movement symphonic work that would have complemented Schnebel's postmodern re-imaginings. It would also have made some fascinating associations with the Viennese master's last completed work in symphonic form: the ‘Great’ C major Symphony, which was heard after the interval. Enough speculating on what might have been; what of the fare that was actually on offer?