The second leg of the Philharmonia's celebration of Elgar's 150th birthday introduces two of his most gargantuan scores, the Violin Concerto and the Symphony No 2, into the mix of his works that the orchestra is touring. In the safe hands of conductor Andrew Davis, they are well-paced, adept and impressive. But is that enough?

In the symphony especially, it didn't seem so. Every musical corner was adroitly turned, but for evidence of Elgar's great orchestral imagination you would have to listen elsewhere. Davis rarely took risks with the timbre or balance, seeming content to settle for the opaque, one-size-fits-all sound the orchestra offered.

The first half had fared better, largely because of the young Canadian violinist James Ehnes, sounding level-headed and compellingly sincere in one of the most colossal violin concertos in the repertoire. The fact that, in the slow movement, a couple of moments did not come off quite as immaculately as he intended served only to make his interpretation warmer. The Serenade for Strings, no less heartfelt for the light touch Davis gave it, had been an unnecessary but lovely appetiser.

· At Westminster Cathedral, London, tonight. Box office: 0800 652 6717