Violinist Joshua Bell's performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto was an object lesson in how to rejuvenate a hackneyed warhorse. He imbued every phrase of the piece with a dazzling range of colours, and revealed the unique structure of Tchaikovsky's concerto. Accompanied by Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Orchestra, Bell made the first movement an essay in lyricism. Instead of a confrontation between soloist and orchestra, Bell was supported by the LSO players, who gave him gossamer-like delicacy in the movement's second theme, before exploding into life in the dramatic central section of the movement.

The long cadenza in the first movement embodied Bell's approach: it's full of violinistic tricks, like dramatic slides and double-stops, but he made each moment part of a compelling argument, releasing its poetry through his technical mastery.

In the slow movement, he was partnered by the LSO's wind players, who matched him for warmth and insight with each gesture, before the folksy energy of the finale. Spellbinding as it was, the concerto was outdone for sheer sonic power by Tilson Thomas's performance of Tchaikovsky's rarely heard Festival Coronation March.

Tilson Thomas drew playing of Technicolor vividness from the orchestra, and they were even more convincing in his own selection from Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet. The famous music had a furious intensity, and the Death of Tybalt was thrillingly violent. Tilson Thomas gave each number its own dramatic character, and illuminated the descriptive power of Prokofiev's scoring. A pianissimo string chord after a shockingly dissonant pile-up of brass chords was unforgettable; even more striking was a limpid flute solo, Prokofiev's effortless depiction of the summer night.