Founded 85 years ago, the Prague Symphony Orchestra may not be top ranking, but they have a strong reputation, counting Václav Neumann and Jiří Bělohlávek among past conductors. Present chief conductor and star asset is Finnish Pietari Inkinen – recently announced as conducting Bayreuth’s 2020 Ring Cycle – whose ambition for his players and his own affinity for large-scale repertoire is reflected in the programming of Mahler’s massive Third Symphony at most of the venues on their current British tour. Mahler’s Bohemian heritage is core to the work and the orchestra’s characteristically Czech sound – in particular the idiomatic wind solos – certainly brought an authenticity that underlined the logic of the choice.

Inkinen’s style is calm, the partnership with the 100-strong ensemble highly disciplined, his understated approach allowing the extremes of simplicity and manic force to emerge in a steady narrative thread. In the scherzo, the usually far-distant sound of the post horn was delivered with unexpected resonance by Marek Zvolánek from high at the back of the hall. Ester Pavlů was soloist in the mysterious slow movement but, in the contrast Mahler then creates between the full mezzo-soprano tone and the bell-like, angelic serenity of women’s and children’s voices – the Bach Choirs of Swansea and Cardiff with the Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral choir – the magic was lacking. Collaborations with more experienced forces in other performances will surely have greater conviction.

Inkinen’s command of the symphony’s overall architectural span was implicit in the slow finale, the music’s extraordinarily expressive intensity now unfolding with the same careful control as had the opening, climactic without ever having been bombastic.

•At Cadogan Hall, London, on 12 November and Sage, Gateshead, on 14 November.