Yo-Yo Ma and the kitchen sink

There was a little bit of everything at Symphony Hall on Thursday: a world premiere, some works for chorus and orchestra, three vocal soloists, and a superstar cellist playing a concerto. Music director Andris Nelsons opened the evening with Koussevitzky Said:, a choral scherzo by American composer John Harbison. This 2012 commission celebrated the 75th anniversary of Tanglewood, setting to music some commentaries by former Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor and Tanglewood founder, Serge Koussevitzky. The Tanglewood Festival Chorus joined the BSO onstage, and their most memorable lyric was "The next Beethoven will from Colorado come."

The second item was the world premiere performance of Lakes Awake at Dawn, a meditation for mixed chorus and orchestra by Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds. This was easily the most accessible composition of the new millennium I have heard so far, with calm harmonies and comforting dissonances. The remaining concerts are likely sold out; listen to the first half hour of the live radio broadcast on Saturday night if you are interested.

The capper for the first half of the program was Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony-concerto for cello and orchestra featuring soloist Yo-Yo Ma. The best part was unscripted collaborative musicianship during the second movement; a draft caught the cellist's sheet music and half turned a page. He tried to settle it with his bow, but had to continue playing. Without missing a beat Andris Nelsons reached over and turned the page forward. Yo-Yo Ma shook his head, and the conductor turned the page back. Five minutes later another draft, conductor turned the page, soloist shook his head, conductor turned the page back. When a third gust took the music, a violist sprang forward and held the page down. She remained crouched by the soloist for the rest of the movement. A violinist even passed along a pencil to weigh down the bottom of the page. Watching this silent communication and generous cooperation among musicians during a blazing performance made the Prokofiev concerto the high point of the season.

The large feature after the intermission was Sergei Rachmaninoff's choral symphony, The Bells, based on a loose translation of the poem by Edgar Allen Poe. Joining the BSO and full chorus were Russian soprano Victoria Yastrebova, Czech tenor Pavel Cernoch and Lithuanian bass-baritone Kostas Smoriginas. I was afraid the work would be a unwieldy beast, but my fears were unfounded. Andris Nelsons proved that he can hold together large forces and bring out both nuance and magnitude.