The BBC SSO is embarking on a Bartók mini-series over the coming weeks, taking in four of his major orchestral works. In the first of the concerts, the orchestra and its chief conductor Ilan Volkov started at the end, with one of the composer's final and arguably greatest works.

There was a time when the combination of Bartók and Volkov the young firebrand would have promised an explosive experience. However, on this occasion, Volkov the mature musician delivered a performance of the Concerto for Orchestra that was governed by clarity and control. The result was not entirely convincing; though such precision was an effective foil for Bartók's play with orchestral texture and colour in the second and fourth movements, the Elegy came across as aggressively hard-edged rather than as the emotional heart of the piece. Volkov kept the momentum and orchestral dynamic in check in the outer movements, effectively suppressing the bravura display element of the work. This was a curiously small-scale performance. The control with which Volkov shaped the music impressive, but the pay-off was that it lacked exuberance, particularly towards the end of the finale, where a lack of build-up meant the final brass fanfare was not the jubilant moment it should be.

The works of Ligeti and Brahms are providing context for those of Bartók throughout the series, though here it was Ligeti and Beethoven. The former's study in orchestra texture, Lontano, was followed by The Emperor Concerto; a particularly startling juxtaposition, even after a considerable pause for stage rearrangements. Till Fellner was the precise, bright-toned soloist in a performance that had considerable grandeur, though which again, like the Bartók, rather lacked momentum, particularly in the lengthy first movement. This concert is being broadcast by BBC Radio 3 as Performance on 3 on December 11.