Foreign orchestras fly into London frequently enough for them to pass unnoticed. But when the Bavarian Radio Symphony came to the Barbican last week it was a hot ticket – partly because they were playing the music of Richard Strauss, which is in their collective DNA; partly because they brought with them the starry Diana Damrau, a soprano much in vogue; but mostly, I think, because the Bavarians came with their chief conductor Mariss Jansons (pictured), who ranks these days at the very top of the world league. And where some conductors in that position combine brilliance with unreliability, so you never know what you’re getting, Jansons is dependable. He always delivers – and the Barbican date was no exception.