It is remarkable that a conductor of James Levine's stature should be making his debut only this year at the Proms. He transformed the Metropolitan Opera. And since 1999, he has been chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic. His concert gave Proms audiences the chance to hear what they have been missing. But on this evidence, theirs is a hit-and-miss relationship.

The swagger of Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber should have suited the orchestra's opulent style. But Levine somehow deadened Hindemith's effervescent scoring. The exotic percussion of the Turandot Scherzo, the second movement, sounded pale and insipid, and the final March was pompous instead of petulant. Levine was content simply to luxuriate in the sound of his orchestra. It was a smug, self-satisfied performance.

But Mozart's D minor Piano Concerto brought out the best in orchestra and conductor. Inspired by Alfred Brendel's mercurial brilliance in the solo part, the orchestra played with refinement and spontaneity. Brendel's own cadenzas in the outer movements were as unpredictable as his approach to the whole piece.

The storm in the middle of the slow movement threatened to overwhelm the orchestra's composure, and the finale surged towards a thrilling, major-key conclusion. The second half paired Edgard Varèse's Amèriques and the Second Suite from Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe. It seems impossible to think of two more contrasted pieces. Varèse's work is an urban vision of the New World, while Ravel's is an outpouring of pastoral fantasy. But Levine created connections.

His Amèriques was full of reminiscences of the Old World: sinuous flute lines redolent of Stravinsky, and textures inspired by Debussy. And Levine's Daphnis and Chloe were no innocent adolescents. The power of the Munich Philharmonic's playing suggested distinctly adult passions. The final Danse gènèrale consummated the lovers' relationship in a vivid crescendo.

· This concert will be broadcast again next Tuesday at 2pm on Radio 3.