With his typically intense, energetic interpretations, BBCSSO's chief conductor Ilan Volkov doesn't seem a natural champion of Elgar. His programming of the composer's First Symphony certainly had novelty value, though given that this was the Musicians' Benevolent Fund royal concert, there was perhaps an element of prescription to the British emphasis - a thought reinforced by the inclusion of Thea Musgrave's shimmering colour piece Rainbow, the work with which the concert hall opened 15 years ago.

Volkov's Elgar turned out to be some way removed from a traditional interpretation. He presented the First Symphony as a vibrant, living entity, rather than a holy relic. Gone was the whiff of sentimentality that has done Elgar little good in recent times; in its stead was an awareness of the composer's place at the end of the 19th-century symphonic tradition.

This performance brought out a Mahlerian side of the symphony, particularly in the ebb and flow of the lengthy first movement. The opening march was still broad enough to fulfil the nobilamente tempo direction, but it was also forward moving, while the performance as a whole had energy and directness.

The only downside of this flexible approach was that it made the symphony feel sectional rather than a seamless whole. This was most apparent towards the end when Volkov didn't pull back enough to create space for the reappearance of the opening theme, with the result that it rather limped in.

If this was Elgar with more momentum than usual, then in contrast, the account of Beethoven's Violin Concerto that preceded it was expansive to say the least. Soloist Lisa Batiashvili's convincing performance, although leisurely, was in no way self- indulgent, and highlighted the purity of her sound and the graceful strength of her playing.