Of course this busy orchestra has been making music all round the south and west through the summer, but the bedrock of their work – I think – is the series of Wednesday evening concerts in Poole, with further performances of the same programmes in halls from Cornwall to Sussex. And hearing these players in performance is the essence of surviving the colder winter months for the thousands of audience members who turn out so regularly to enjoy the musical fun.

The first night of anything is always special, but was made more so this year by the alliance of Chief Conductor Mark Wigglesworth with one of Britain’s leading pianists Sir Stephen Hough. Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto may be less well known than numbers 2 or 3, but Sir Stephen’s dazzling and moving playing made me wonder why. The performance had all the excitement and lush romanticism you could hope for. He followed it with Anton Rubenstein’s Melody in F as a generous encore.

The opening item of the evening, Dani Howard’s delicate The Butterfly Effect, made a striking start to her term as the BSO’s ‘Celebrated Composer’ for this season. On the strength of this quietly profound work, we look forward eagerly to hearing her music on future evenings.

To kick off the season, something big and beautiful is usually served up. The dish to relish on this occasion was Shostakovich’s mighty and magnificent Tenth Symphony, the composer’s reaction to living in the Soviet Union in the early 1950s. Maybe the Allegro is a portrait of Stalin – it must surely be one of the most taxing movements to play in any symphony – but the agonised, haunting music of the slower movements, filled with aching longing mixed with abject despair, proved the most impressive feature to me. The orchestra conveyed the composer’s distress as well and his anger with awe-inspiring ferocity.

This was an outstanding and memorable beginning – but only a beginning. There are many delights to come, starting next week with Artist in Residence Roderick Williams in Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony – a rarely performed work which illustrates the BSO’s dedication to adventurous programming as well as sparkling performances of old favourites.

The programme, to be found here, promises a line up of musical medicine to see us through to next May. Here’s health to – and from – the BSO!

BSO member and supporter Tom Wickson 

To catch up on the livestream of this performance (available until 1 Nov) click here