Franz Welser-Möst conducts at the Albert Hall on September 8 and 9 [Sebastian Fröhlich]

FOR those not counting, it’s the final full-week of the Proms. And as we edge toward the Last Night (on Sep 13 if you want to camp out in the street in hopes of a return: a high-risk venture) it’s a pretty good week – crowned by a visit from the mighty Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra that stretches across two days, September 8 and 9.

If you’ve never heard the Vienna Phil, they’re one of the last great ensembles to maintain a truly distinctive sound – partly because they use instruments slightly different to those of most other orchestras, but more broadly because they ring-fence themselves with traditions of playing passed down from one generation to the next. Their critics call it insular. But their admirers call it character, and worth preserving.

Far too grand to have (or need) a chief conductor, the VPO do nonetheless have special relationships with big stars of the podium. And for their two Proms, they come with Franz Welser-Möst, the Austrian conductor who, years ago when he ran the London Philharmonic Orchestra at too young an age to handle it, was nicknamed Frankly Worse than Most (musicians can be cruel). He’s come a long way since.

On September 8 he directs what can only be a gargantuan performance of Bruckner’s cathedral-like 9th Symphony. On the 9th it’s Mozart and Tchaikovsky. And both concerts are likely highlights of the season.

But the night before, September 7, brings one of the season’s must-hear curiosities: a rare performance of Sir Arthur Bliss’s oratorio-sized cantata The Beatitudes. Ill-fated from the start, it was conceived in 1962 as the centrepiece for an arts festival packaged around the opening of the new Coventry Cathedral: a landmark in British cultural life at the time. But Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem had also been commissioned for the same event, eventually taking precedence. And Bliss’s work got sidelined – not even premiered in the cathedral but in a nearby hall that didn’t suit it.

Even the involvement of the star soprano Jennifer Vyvyan (a Hampstead resident: there’s a plaque for her on Fitzjohn’s Avenue) failed to make it register. And ever since, the score has languished half-forgotten. This performance, though, may change things. The soprano here, Elizabeth Watts, is somebody who often sings the Vyvyan repertoire. The BBCSO, Singers and Chorus are conducted by Sakari Oramo. And who knows – it could be revelatory.

Also at the Proms this week is Vaughan Williams’ magical evocation of the spirit of the great metropolis in which we all live, his London Symphony – played September 7 in a morning concert by the RPO under Vassily Petrenko.

On the 10th the fabulous young cellist Anastasia Kobekina plays Shostakovich’s 1st Concerto with the BBC Scottish SO. And making the most of their trip down, the Scottish band stick around for another Prom on September 11 – aka 9/11 and always, for reasons of recent history, a day where concert programmes require some sensitivity in planning. This one has opted for Stravinsky’s sobering Requiem Canticles, alongside modern transcriptions of church music by Gabrieli and the consoling warmth of Brahms’ 2nd Symphony. Nicely put together.

All these Proms are at the Albert Hall but also broadcast live on Radio 3. Details: bbc.co.uk/proms