It's hard to believe this was the Kronos Quartet's first Prom, with six works by living composers. And for those composers, being performed by Kronos must be a mixed blessing: they invest each score with such commitment that every facet gleams – while also throwing a spotlight on every flaw.
Nicole Lizée's The Golden Age of the Radiophonic Workshop, with its open-reel tape machines, games console and typewriter, was a disappointment. This episodic, electroacoustic mix of warm synths and icy strings, a tribute to Delia Derbyshire, felt like a work in progress. The delicate blend of pre-recorded and live elements in Sofia Gubaidulina's String Quartet No 4 was easier to hear and appreciate than on record.
Kronos play written music with the concentrated intensity of great improvisers. Ben Johnston's String Quartet No 4 (Amazing Grace) was spacious and humane, reflecting Johnston's understanding of the science of sound. Perhaps as a counterbalance to the aesthetic lottery of the commissioning process, Kronos have developed many adaptations of music way outside the contemporary repertoire. Tusen Tankar was a miniature: a mournful Nordic melody that became oddly uplifting. Omar Souleyman's I'll Prevent the Hunters From Hunting You was lo-fi Syrian party music. Ecstatic pop can sound surprisingly avant garde when played on violins.
Aleksandra Vrebalov's Hold Me, Neighbour, In This Storm was chilling and beautifully structured, with pre-recorded Serbian Orthodox church bells and Islamic calls for prayer. Despite occasional lurches into kitsch, its mix of Kronos's strings with Balkan instruments – tapan drum and one-stringed gusle – had urgency and melodramatic purpose.
The encore was a pumping Clint Mansell movie cue (from Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain) with a bombastic ending. Kronos had promised something "big" for their Proms debut, and they delivered.
• If you're at any Prom this summer, tweet your thoughts about it to @guardianmusic using the hashtag #proms and we'll pull what you've got to say into one of our weekly roundups – or leave your comments below.
