The BBC Symphony Orchestra is renowned for its ability to bring brilliance to the unknown, contemporary music being a real strength. Recent months have seen it release Anthony Payne’s Visions and Journeys with Martyn Brabbins (NMC, 9/24) and take a trip through a completely diverse ‘Mixtape’ courtesy of Dalia Stasevska (Platoon, A/24). At the heart, however, of the current era’s excellence is the relationship with conductor Sakari Oramo, who last autumn agreed to continue at the helm until 2030, the orchestra’s centenary year, a tenure which will also cover its move from Maida Vale Studios into a new purpose-built home at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London. The passion Oramo brings to the ensemble is no better demonstrated than in the forthcoming album of orchestral works by Grażyna Bacewicz, the second in Chandos’s series, and featuring her Symphony No 2, her Piano Concerto (played by Peter Donohoe) and Concerto For Large Symphony Orchestra – characteristically committed advocacy of (until recently) a relatively little-known voice, and superb music-making.

Vote to decide Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year