Sir Mark Elder has been at the helm of the Hallé orchestra, based in Manchester, for over 20 years. Just this year, he announced he would be stepping down at the end of the 2023/24 season. For surely one of his last Proms appearances, Elder offers the punters an all-Russian affair, with Rachmaninov’s The Bells (1913) the first act to the haunting epic drama of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony (1937). Though both are certainly accomplished, it all feels a little tepid.

Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony is known for its drama; but the Hallé, with all their might, fail to deliver. The opening bars demand a kind of drilling into the ground, embedding the foundation; but in actuality, the Hallé make it feel meek and slow. Even first violinist Roberto Ruisi’s superb leading can’t cajole Elder to give the final Allegro the speed and attack that the movement so desperately needs. Conductors often sacrifice speed here, in order to inject power or emphasis into the final bars; but the result is a stagnant and predictable finish. Instead, Shostakovich demands a race to the end, like a ticking time bomb that curiously begins to speed up before the final explosion. The Hallé just don’t get there.

In the first half, The Bells is a nice pairing with Shostakovich’s Fifth: Rachmaninov’s romantic strings and sentimental melodies contrast with Shostakovich’s sombre and melancholy lines. And the combined forces of the Hallé Choir and BBC Symphony Chorus give us a hundred-strong voices: a joy, and at times deafening. Such is their power, two prommers standing in the arena actually faint (though this may be the heat in the packed house).

All in all, the main event should be some Stalin-pleasing Russian angst; but in actual fact, the stars of the show are three large bells that sit watching the whole endeavour at the back of the orchestra.

Tickets for all 71 Proms are available from just £8 on the BBC Proms 2023 website.