BY chance, the city's two leading orchestras have put on American-themed programmes within the space of a week. Together they illustrated the sheer variety of 20th-century music across the pond.

Saturday's soloist was a young English pianist making his debut with full orchestra. Jamie Brooks has a light touch and a sure sense of rhythm, qualities which stood him in good stead for a captivating performance of Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F under Derek Williams' direction.

The NSO played themselves in with the overture to Gershwin's musical Strike Up the Band. Michael Torke's Javelin, commissioned for the 1996 Olympics, required both stamina and delicacy, and the orchestra impressed on both counts.

Amid the panache of concerted sections, players took their individual spots with gusto in the Latin dance-hall evocations of Copland's El Salon Mexico. More fancy footwork was reflected in the minimalist foxtrot of John Adams' The Chairman Dances.

Movie music found a bejewelled outlet in Pirates of the Caribbean, before the NSO turned themselves into the smartest of marching bands for Sousa's The Washington Post.

Peter Palmer