I’ve never known the reliably excellent Orchestra of the Swan play to the standards it’s achieving at the moment.

Perhaps performing with a soloist of the calibre of Peter Donohoe brings added value, but whatever the reason, this afternoon concert in a packed, whoopingly (for once I didn’t mind) appreciative Town Hall found the orchestra playing out of its socks.

We began with one of Haydn’s lesser-known symphonies, no.8, Le Soir, urbane and witty under David Curtis’ direction, and glowing with wonderful wind (take a bow, bassoon) and solo string contributions.

Enter Donohoe for Shostakovich’s irresistible Second Piano Concerto (a work Donohoe has performed twice under the baton of the composer’s son Maxim, for whom it was written).

The helterskelter outer movements found his pianism crisp and idiomatic, while in the gorgeous nocturne of the andante Donohoe hinted at the sweetness of Borodin as well as the poetic perfume of Chopin.

Balance between the hands here was expertly weighted, and all the while we were heartwarmingly aware of this generous collaboration between soloist, conductor, and a galvanised orchestra.

Donohoe gave us two encores (and again, for once I didn’t mind), both pointing towards the second half. Mendelssohn’s early E minor Scherzo, typically elfin, and with a surprise ending to the ending, was followed by Shostakovich’s Prelude and Fugue no.7, luminously pedalled, its A major key preparing the way for Mendelssohn’s Symphony no.4 in A major – lovingly-known as the “Italian”.

The orchestra was on fire here, Curtis’ tempi swift and flowing, dynamically shaped and bursting with controlled energy. And a special mention must go to the clarinets, caressingly warm as befits the seductive Mediterranean.