The Cleveland Orchestra arrived at the Proms for the first time in nearly a decade with its conductor back in the headlines. On Friday, Franz Welser-Möst abruptly walked out of his other music-director job at the Vienna State Opera. Two days later, he wasn't showing any signs of stress as he exhibited the mellow, silky sound he has cultivated in his 12 years with the Clevelanders. But where was everyone? Here was one of the major US orchestras, playing Brahms during the last week of the Proms – this concert should have sold out, but was far from full.
Both of the orchestra's Proms feature works by Jörg Widmann. Flûte en Suite was written for the Cleveland Orchestra's Joshua Smith, who was an eloquent soloist in a score that, typically for Widmann, plays mischievously and deftly with the gestures of old music. Each of the eight movements pits Smith against a small, sonorous group of instruments – the full range of flutes from bass to piccolo, or delicate muted trumpets – and several refer to the dances found in Bach's orchestral suites. There is a barcarolle whose melody could easily be a genuine gondoliers' song, made strange and hypnotic thanks to its marimba accompaniment. Then, at the end, flute and orchestra tumble headlong into a direct quotation of Bach's famous Badinerie. We laugh, and we are meant to; but it all feels a bit like a colossal in-joke, and sits uneasily with the poise of much that has gone before.
The Widmann was framed by a jubilant but polite performance of Brahms's Academic Festival Overture, and an expansive account of the First Symphony, with Smith back in the first flautist's chair. It had old-school character – the symphony's middle movements have never sounded so Viennese. But, for all the long phrases and tasteful dabs of colour, something was missing. The encore was in the same vein – a csárdás by Johann Strauss II, played artfully but without generating much electricity.
• The Proms continue until 13 September. Details: bbc.co.uk/proms.
