The second of this pair of concerts, bringing to London for the first time the combination of the Concertgebouw and its new chief conductor, Mariss Jansons, had a less obviously flashy programme than the first - but only just.
The five movements of Debussy's Images may not contain quite the gymnastics of Stravinsky's Petrushka, with which the weekend had started, but there could have been few more vivid showcases for this orchestra's celebrated transparency of sound. Even in the busiest and most colourful passages of a work that forms a short tour around western Europe, everything was audible and precisely delineated within those thick textures, and the transitions in tempo were remarkably tautly handled. A muscular cor anglais solo contributed much to the England-inspired Gigues, and the Spanish lilt of the second movement had the two bassoonists swaying unconsciously together during their richly played duet.
A greater challenge to Janson's ability to convey musical architecture came in the form of Sibelius's Second Symphony, often performed but less frequently made into something as cohesive and ultimately moving as this. The third movement, exploding into life, was taken so fast that the light-footed string melodies risked coalescing into a buzz, but this grew into a finale paced with very effective restraint, the major climax being held back until the very close.
As encore, there was a beautifully understated reading of Sibelius's Valse Triste; then, as if to make up for the absence of a glittering slice of Strauss on either of this weekend's programmes, the Prelude to Act 3 of Wagner's Lohengrin - a not-so-distant ancestor of all those attention-grabbing showpieces, sounding as snappy as if the players were still fresh.
Jansons is undoubtedly a formidable force, but it's only because of his obvious rapport with these players that he can achieve quite this much. If the Concertgebouw is not already the best orchestra in the world, there's a good chance that, under him, it soon will be.
