The Minnesota Orchestra's first of two Proms concerts in London Friday evening seemed to go over well, judging by the audience reax, and the kind words of the announcer who hosted the concert on BBC-3 radio.

The opener was a work ("Music for a Scene from Shelley") by American composer Samuel Barber that swelled to a dramatic climax. The second piece featured guest soloist Alisa Weilerstein in the First Cello Concerto by Shostakovich. Weilerstein responded to an extended ovation with an encore performance of Bach's Cello Suite No. 3 in C.

At the intermission, British radio listeners got a 20-minute special on the Minnesota Orchestra's history, conductors and recordings, with Brian Newhouse of Minnesota Public Radio and Sam Bergman, violist with the orchestra.

Osmo Vanska conducted Bruckner's Symphony No. 4, which the orchestra recently recorded, for the second half of the concert. There was laughter and a brief pause before the work's final movement, when principal cellist Anthony Ross had to replace a broken string. Proms-goers gave another extended round of applause, post-Bruckner.

The orchestra plays a second Proms concert Saturday evening, then travels to Edinburgh and Amsterdam to complete its brief tour in Europe. It opens its 2010-11 season in Minneapolis on Sept. 30.