The Proms have an anniversary obsession. Last night's offered the kind of programming that always makes sense but with the added significance (or not) of replicating a Prom that took place 50 years ago. No particular harm or virtue in that but it did suggest that audiences then had longer attention spans. A Mendelssohn overture and symphony, followed by a Brahms concerto, would usually be enough today. Here, we got an extra symphony, and no miniature either, but Brahms's Second.

With an extra interval (not required in 1958) it made a long evening but the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Belohlávek held the attention throughout. Mendelssohn's Ruy Blas Overture and his Italian Symphony had enough wit and drama to make you wonder why Mendelssohn wasn't a better opera composer, and while in the symphony six double-basses provided a heavy undertow, the work's essential high spirits emerged intact.

In Brahms's Second Piano Concerto, Lars Vogt was not the most muscular soloist, though the power was there when needed. Instead his delicacy impressed, producing a magical intimacy in exchanges with the horn, and especially with the cello.

Belohlávek kept orchestral balances perfectly weighted. If Brahms's Second Symphony was less sunny than in some performances, the tension and drive more than compensated. With music-making this vibrant, who needs anniversaries?