Few composers have had such an impact on the course of musical history as the three brought together by the Philharmonia Orchestra in this evening’s concert. The three composers in question are Ludwig van Beethoven in the opening years of the 19th century, and John Adams and Steve Reich in our own time. Adams’s exhilarating Short Ride in a Fast Machine evokes a white-knuckle ride he took with a friend in a ‘very fancy Italian sports car’. A relentless beat on the woodblock launches the orchestra into a full-throttle four-minute fanfare.