PROMS: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra - Royal Albert Hall / Radio 3

Bruckner's revision of his First Symphony some 25 years after its composition is generally regarded as the most damaging of his many insecure post-compositional tinkerings and reworkings. Yet after hearing this version used in what was the symphony's Prom premiere by Riccardo Chailly and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, one was still astounded at its originality of musical incident and heaven-storming architecture.

The nobly sonorous textures characteristic of this orchestra were ideally suited to the work's monumental statements, as indeed was the al fresco acoustic of the auditorium, and Bruckner's vast structural spans were splendidly raised aloft by Chailly. If the rewritten first movement is typical in its blurring through elaborated orchestration of the composer's original granitic outlines, it still articulates a searing vision, as indeed does the finale, despite inappropriate attempts to break up the music's natural flow after the manner of the later symphonies.

Prior to this majestic performance we heard an equally impressive account of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. Maria Joao Pires brought an astonishing dynamic and timbral range to bear, achieving a touching inwardness and a ringing jubilation. Her playing revealed the greatest reserves of power, but it was the power of lyric incandescence, not heroic domination.