The applause that greeted Andris Nelsons as he took the CBSO podium on Thursday was even warmer than usual.

Word had spread that only 15 days earlier he had become father to Adriana Anna Nelsons, and had in fact cancelled other engagements (including prestigious Boston) in order to be with his wife, Kristine Opolais, and their new baby – the latest addition to the CBSO family the conductor loves so much. And here he was, sharing his joy with all of us.

In the event, the opening offering could scarcely have been more inappropriate, Richard Strauss’ tone-poem Death and Transfiguration, a 25-year-old’s mawkish depiction of the death-throes of an old man who has failed to fulfil his ideals.

But Nelsons was able to put all thoughts of new life behind him, summoning tautly-strung delicacy for the opening deathbed scene, drawing eloquent woodwind and violin solos, and in the febrile textures of the ensuing tortured struggle urging the strings to ride high over menacing brass.

The climax was heart-stopping – we feared literally so, given the energy Nelsons was burning here; but he then found quiet affirmation at last from the brass as he opened the Pearly Gates.

Coincidentally, the main subject in the first movement of Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto bears a certain resemblance to the “Aspiration” theme in the Strauss. Whether or not Stephen Hough was aware of it, this account from an awesomely-gifted pianist so popular with players and audience displayed an innate feel for the music’s thematic gestures and poignant lyricism.