London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, review Here comes the 20th Century is the title of the first "chapter" of the Southbank Centre's survey of modern music, now in its first week. The words "Look out!" are surely implied, as the 20th century still connotes something exciting but abrasive for many people. But as the first piece in this concert reminded us, romanticism lingered well into the new century. In Sommerwind (In a Summer Breeze) by the Viennese composer Anton Webern is a pastoral idyll that is really not so far from Beethoven's pastoral symphony. In this loving and beautifully relaxed performance there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the birds twittered obligingly in major chords. Then came Schoenberg's expressionist masterpiece Five Pieces for Orchestra. Here the 20th century truly arrives, with an air of impending catastrophe. The body language of expressionist music is all to do with flinching and fleeing, modes that don't come naturally to the conductor Mark Elder. Having spent decades in the opera house, the more "natural" modes of breathing and singing are his territory, and the faster movements of this piece lacked the authentic touch of frenzy. The more long-breathed movements suited him better, but even here the turnings between different textures felt too leisurely, so the music appeared to tread water. The last movement was much the best, perhaps because its rich counterpoint is closer to romanticism. With Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) one felt immediately that Elder was on home territory. In this context, Mahler's sequence of songs evoking evanescent joys and sorrows seemed like a farewell to the receding 19th century. Elder led a performance of tender sensitivity rather than heaven-storming bravura. In this he was helped by the American tenor Paul Groves, who was faced with some of the most taxingly heroic passages in the entire tenor repertory. Often one's more aware here of the singer's efforts than the music, but Groves's emotional intelligence and engagement with the words were what seized the attention. The Finnish mezzo-soprano Lilli Paasikivi, who shared the cycle with Groves, had similar virtues. Some singers might have struggled with Elder's very leisurely tempi, but she took everything in her stride. I've heard more heart-stoppingly intense performances of the final song, with its long journey through world-weariness to serene acceptance of life's beautiful transience. But Paasikivi's performance had a generous, wise acceptance that was just as moving in its way.