The second of Christoph Eschenbach's concerts with the London Philharmonic began with the UK premiere of Five Orchestral Pieces by the 36-year-old German composer Matthias Pintscher. The title suggested an affinity with Arnold Schoenberg's epoch-making work of 1909, whose influence was obvious not only in the vast yet selectively employed instrumental palette Pintscher draws on but also in the score's constant volatility.

Pintscher has described his music as "an imaginary theatre, full of mystery and intimacy", and its gestures are nothing if not theatrical. Where it fails to live up to its more disciplined predecessor is in timing. Schoenberg's examples unsettle yet never last so long that listeners can adjust the parameters of their listening to their disjointedness. Four out of Pintscher's five pieces continue until their state of alienation becomes the norm, while the fifth is so short that it does not fully register. Brilliantly executed though they are from a sonic point of view, and expertly performed by the LPO, they added up to less than the sum of their parts.

The performance of Beethoven's Ninth in the second half benefited from some high-powered singing from the London Philharmonic Choir, though the solo quartet was dependable rather than inspiring. But Eschenbach's reading smoothed away too much of the roughness that is an essential feature of Beethoven's writing. The scherzo was too genial and the slow movement too sophisticated. The finale might have reached a much greater sense of elation had the earlier movements provided a more appropriate launching pad.