Brahms's First Serenade is a curious creature; with even the speediest of performances coming in at three-quarters of an hour, it equals - and even surpasses - the composer's symphonies for length. It was another two decades before Brahms summoned up the courage to complete his first symphony but, at times in the Serenade, the young composer seems to be tentatively reaching out in that direction.

One of the merits of this performance from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra was that conductor Olari Elts did not attempt to resolve the inherent contradictions of the work, but rather embraced them. The balance of the orchestra's relatively small string section against wind and brass emphasised the Serenade's links with the large-scale chamber works written by his predecessors, to which Elts contributed by striking a balance between the levity suggested by the pastoral bucolic and a certain weightiness found in the longer movements.

The Serenade crowned a programme of contrary music from the SCO and its principal guest conductor designate (Elts assumes the position in autumn), opening with Schubert's Overture in the Italian Style, followed by Schumann's showpiece piano concerto, played with understated strength and assured musicianship by Artur Pizarro.

As a programme, it perhaps lacked a certain focus, but played with the SCO's lively precision despite a few uncustomary fluffs (including a moment early on in the Brahms were the brass came spectacularly unstuck), it was a low-key pleasure.