Significant ESA contributions to space exploration may well be as rare as performances of Holst's defining work and both are probably down to finances. This was the first time BPO musical director Barry Wordsworth had conducted the work in Brighton and in his programme notes he pointed out that the cost of employing 92 professional musicians for a concert that also included two other memorable pieces, was around £40,000.

With the Dome holding 1,600, of whom less than half are season ticket holders, it means that even if every seat was sold for £25, less than the top priced ticket, it would only cover the costs.

After Wordsworth's sell-out birthday concert two weeks earlier, this time there were a few gaps and so the BPO were particularly grateful to Esther Welch for her generous sponsorship.

No doubt the BPO, through Wordsworth's inspired direction, are playing better than ever and that was never more clearly demonstrated than in their second performance of Martin Butler's From the Fairground of Dreams. The BPO's first composer in focus was finishing his two-year stint but Wordworth told the audience that Sussex University's Professor of Music has agreed to join the board.

The piece was commissioned by the BPO and first performed by them in a January concert that was recorded for BBC Radio 3. It conjures up images of pier pleasure (or self inflicted discomfort) but the Brighton composer lays more emphasis on its circularity, which he also equates to the way of life in his home town as well as the seasonal nature of its existence, and its looped geography - encircled by the Downs and the sea.

In a season dedicated to a wide range of solo instruments, the BPO kept the rarest until last, and Graham Sibley played Vaughan Williams' Tuba concerto in his Dome debut. He brought the best out of his mellow tuba and proved it is a little more versatile than often perceived.

But it was The Planets that captured most attention and apart from the biggest orchestra assembled by the BPO since they returned to the Dome six years ago, there was also an off-stage choir provided by the women of the Brighton Festival Chorus and conducted by James Morgan.

The inclusion of the Vaughan Williams work was a taster for the opening concert of the 84th season in October when the 50th anniversary of the great British composer's death will be commemorated in style. The all-Vaughan Williams programme will kick off a season dedicated to orchestral songs, dances and plays.

It promises to be another memorable season and early-bird season ticket booking opens next Tuesday (March 18). With no public funding, the quality BPO are worthy of support.