While many may profess to know little classical music by name, this programme would surely have had at least one piece that most would recognise and it was a real treat to hear the BSO provide such beautiful interpretations of pieces from some of the best ballet scores ever written.

Making his BSO debut, conductor Martin André is perhaps best known for his extensive work conducting operas. He brought both precision and joy to the evening's proceedings.

Broadcast live on Classic FM, the pieces were introduced by Anne-Marie Minhall, presenter of Classic FM's weekday afternoon shows, stating “we are extraordinarily proud of our partnership with the BSO”.

Excerpts from Coppélia opened the show.

Known as the very first ballet composer, Delibes wrote an enchanting, at times fast-paced and comedic score and tonight's excerpts were a crowd favourite.

Next was Hérold's Clog Dance from La Fille mal gardée which was both toe-tapping and uplifting. Anne-Marie Minhall's opinion “I absolutely adore that piece of music” was shared by many, including myself.

We then heard pieces from Soviet composer Aram Khachaturian.

The Sabre Dance, described as a “whirling dervish”, showed the incredible pace of the BSO and certainly kept the talented percussion section busy.

The presenter was spot on when she said “its fast, its furious and you'd better hang on to your hats."

The quieter paced Adagio, again highly recognisable, came from 1954 ballet Spartacus.

The string contingent created goosebump moments with its romance and beauty and the elegant flutes of Ken Smith and David Ruff were magical.

Next came excerpts from Chopin's Les Sylphides, a short plotless “ballet blanc”, simply described as a “romantic reverie”. It debuted in 1893 conducted by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. This allowed talented harpist Eluned Pierce to captivate the audience.

To finish the first half, we were treated to two delights from Prokofiev's masterful Romeo and Juliet. The Montagues and the Capulets was an auditory feast, the second piece both delicate and beautiful, showcasing to the full the BSO's strings section.

After the break, we heard some of Tchaikovsky's ballet works including Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.

Introduced as “an absolute gem in the world of ballet”, the elegant score of Sleeping Beauty was something special.

But the highlight of the entire evening had to be Act IV of Swan Lake.

Originally hated by critics and audiences alike, it went on to become “the world's best loved ballet of all time”. Martin André was clearly delighted with the orchestra's delivery of this passionate work. The audience cheered and didn't seem to want the evening to end.

As Anne-Marie Minhall simply said of the BSO “they are a great British orchestra”.

Stephanie Hall