BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Benjamin
Royal Albert Hall, London
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The Proms are celebrating the 250th anniversary of Bach's death not only in performances of his music but in some of the commissioned works too. Julian Yu's Not a Stream but an Ocean, borrowing Beethoven's punning description of his great predecessor for its title and given its premiere in the Welsh orchestra's first appearance of the season, was designed as an explicit homage; the final section of this 17-minute work is a mélange of Bachian themes - from the Art of Fugue, the Musical Offering, among many other works - to surmount an argument that is based upon the quintessentially baroque form of the passacaglia.

Yu, born in China in 1957 but now an Australian resident, is clearly an expert orchestrator. His music bears few traces of his oriental origins, though the wispy, shimmering opening of this piece suggests that Takemitsu at least is part of his stylistic background. It began very promisingly, and though not earth-shatteringly original, it was well paced and proportioned, with the workings of the theme easy to follow. It was, however, self-sufficient; the sudden influx of Bach seemed just to have been added on rather than integrated.

George Benjamin conducted the premiere, placed in a programme that also included a second London performance of his own Palimpsest, and otherwise very much reflected his own musical allegiances. There was Debussy to begin and Stravinsky to end, with a dazzling performance of Messiaen's Oiseaux Exotiques in between.

* * * * * Unmissable * * * * Recommended * * * Enjoyable * * Mediocre * Terrible