Turning the pegs on a violin is usually enough for professional players to get a perfect pitch, but sometimes using the fine tuners on the tail piece is necessary to get it exactly right.

That same process can happen with an orchestra and a composition, or even an orchestra and a conductor, as a Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert last night at Heinz Hall showed.

Manfred Honeck opened his tenure as music director of the PSO with Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in 2008, toured with it in China last spring and recorded it. Each time, the orchestra performed his unique interpretation, which emphasizes the symphony's heterogeneous texture that is a mix of folk-like music and heavenly classical strains.

But they didn't master that interpretation (although the multiple takes for the recording rectified that). That's one of the reasons that Honeck decided to substitute Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 with Mahler One again for this weekend. Consider it a final tuning before the PSO takes it to Carnegie Hall in New York Tuesday.

It's a smart move. One, the Heinz Hall audience got to hear the work in top form, with all the players now completely on the same page as Mr. Honeck (whether they totally agree with him or not). And, two, it is clear New York will get the best the PSO has to offer, and a stunning, ear-opening reading at that.

The line was extraordinarily taut from the amorphous opening to the D major instrumental chorale that ends the work -- every musical element sprung from it precisely and with a confident bounce. The distant trumpets signifying nature in the first movement, the exaggerated peasant dances in the second, the competing klezmer and folk bands of the third and the deep despair of the finale appeared as if part of a tapestry being unrolled.

There were graceful moments almost beyond what you thought possible, such as the cello's gentle ushering in of the primary theme in the opening movement or the violins playing of supernal music in the third. And the raucous music, be it the barking clarinets, the rustic horns or the crashes of the percussion section were very much on target. Tone production in the quiet moments, an issue in 2008, was rectified and even the musical "glue" of certain sections was superb, such as the bassoon playing in the third.

But if this symphony contained all the world, which Mahler attempted to do in his symphonies, then what came before in the first half was by definition other worldly. And that certainly was true with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter's soloing in Brahms' Violin Concerto. When I hear this work played by someone who has both the core integrity of tone and also the understanding of large-scale form as does Ms. Mutter, I can't help but thinking this is Brahms' best opus. The subtleness of the first movement's continual rocking between aggressive phrases and sweet passages capsizes many a soloist, but Ms. Mutter navigated those waters well.

She is anything but a flashy violinist, and her strength comes from her ability to carry her own line and rich tone throughout any run or figuration. Playing in her customary sleeveless gown, which she says gives her freedom to move her arms, she portrayed visually the aplomb that was evident in her timbre. And what sound it was!

In the first and third movements, she bowed with a hint of electricity that lends an excitement to the music that even Brahms, the great orchestrator, couldn't penned in his scores. After all, there is no marking for "play this with multiple layers of unbelievably rich tone, both glowing and edgy."

In contrast, Ms. Mutter's playing in the second movement was sweet and shimmering, set up by that long, glorious melody Brahms gave to the oboe. I don't think I have heard Cynthia DeAlmeida play anything better than she did last night, her artistry matched only by her amazing stamina.

Program repeats tonight at 8.

Manfred Honeck, conductor; Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin

Brahms' Violin Concerto; Mahler's Symphony No. 1

When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Heinz Hall, Downtown.

Tickets: Start at $20; 412-392-4900.

Critics Andrew Druckenbrod and Scott Mervis talk about music on "The Beat," available exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.