Three works which together symbolise the utmost in style galant were performed with pinpoint precision by the London Philharmonic Orchestra on Sunday.

Early Beethoven (Symphony No l), mid-period Haydn (Piano Concerto in D), and late Mozart (Symphony No 41), with the wild card of a Rossini Overture, made a programme of popular appeal and great charm.

Beethoven was delivered with sparkling rhythms and graceful pointing: the featherlight touch in the Minuet is not an easy accomplishment.

Soloist in Haydn’s concerto was Russian pianist Maria Meerovitch, a consummate musician to her virtuosic finger tips, but one who needed the second movement to gain confidence before happily rattling through the final rondo.

The vexed question of period instruments raised its head: are the pedals and dampers of a Steinway concert grand too heavyweight for Haydn’s scalic passagework?

Maria Meerovitch’s undoubted gifts were perfectly served by her encore, a romantic account of Scriabin for the left hand.

Rossini was fun and Mozart magnificent. But the palm goes to young Australian conductor Daniel Smith for his uncomplicated joy in making music, for his expansive, courtly gestures, his radiantly expressive energy – and for conducting without a score.