Sakari Oramo's patient championing of the best of John Foulds' music came to fruition in this concert with the performance of his piano concerto, Dynamic Triptych. Symphony Hall, until now not entirely convinced by the exotic and enigmatic Foulds, gave the piece the warmest of receptions. Mission accomplished?

It is arguable that audiences will be most receptive to the concerto medium, where the personality of the soloist helps to broker a deal. Since the safe and familiar Peter Donohoe has his own strong track record of resurrecting English concertos, he and Oramo were formidable advocates here.

While this triptych has a relatively conventional form - the title of each movement flagging up the successive focus on mode, timbre, rhythm - its most striking facet was the flamboyant, bravura of the piano role; at one point the vast harmonic clusters was pounded out with both forearms, but the glistening passagework was also expressive.

Foulds' vibrant but sometimes quirky handling of the orchestra emerged clearly, with Oramo's own authority as a violinist bringing unflinching conviction to the use of quarter-tones in the string-writing: the most obvious evidence of the composer's fascination with Indian ragas. But it was the character of the finale that was most exhilarating, muscular, forthright and powerfully delivered.

Oramo's greatest compliment was to include Foulds in the canon of English composers. After the fiery triptych, the distinct chill of Frank Bridge's There Is a Willow Grows Aslant a Brook was a perfect foil; the subtle melancholy of this tone-poem on the death of Ophelia beautifully articulated by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Given the echoes of Ravel in Foulds' eclectic threads, programming Vaughan-Williams was another masterly touch. His Ninth Symphony tends to be done as English valedictory but, by emphasising the strategic use of saxophone colour, Oramo offered another perspective: one of considerable integrity.