First and last thoughts dominated this programme; Beethoven's first attempt at an overture for Fidelio, and Schumann's late revised version of his Fourth Symphony. The results are rather unsatisfactory in both. Beethoven's original Fidelio overture, Leonora No 2, is akin to the more familiar No 3: the same melodies form the kernel, but the grandeur and fully worked-out drama are absent. As a consolation, the result is more theatrical, an effect conductor Louis Langrée capitalised on in gestures such as the hammer-blow chords that disrupt the slow introduction.

The opposite problem afflicts the final version of Schumann's Fourth Symphony, which suffers from overscoring - not just in the full-throttle outer movements, but even the slow movement with its peculiar doublings such as solo cello and oboe. However, it is the transition to the major-key finale that is the weakest point, Schumann attempting to emulate the extraordinary equivalent passage in Beethoven's Fifth without setting up the tension beforehand. If enthusiasm could convince, then the SCO's energised, vibrant playing would have won the day, but it was not enough.

The symphony was preceded by Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with violinist Renaud Capuçon and violist Antoine Tamestit. The two have made a yet-to-be-released recording of the piece with the SCO: strange then that they elected to read from the music and seemed ill at ease. It was also an old-fashioned performance, but then Capuçon with his silvery tone and full vibrato, is a rather old-fashioned violinist. At issue here though was the way both soloists pulled the tempo back to excess at every opportunity - an affectation taken to ridiculous extremes.