Fertile collaboration and friendly competition – the orchestras on the South Bank are going to have to get to grips with both concepts as they adjust to their refurbished home. And that doesn’t just mean the London Philharmonic and the Philharmonia – once upon a time bitter rivals for prominence ( see page 14) – but also the superb Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, boisterously celebrating its 21st birthday this year, and the contemporary-minded, flexible ensemble the London Sinfonietta.

But as steered by Jude Kelly, and her Head of Music, Marshall Marcus (late of the OAE himself), the South Bank Centre isn’t simply going to stand as a passive host. The four home orchestras are more than just regular visitors: they’re billed as Artists in Residence, while buttressing and complementing them are Associate Artists, including Vladimir Jurowski (also the LPO’s chief conductor), the Takács Quartet and pianist Richard Goode. The idea isn’t just that they’ll perform: they’ll also get involved in cross-genre projects, masterclasses and outreach work.

And they’ll link up with each other.

That, in fact, is how the resident orchestras will inaugurate their return to the RFH on Monday, in a deliberate show of togetherness. The LPO will perform Julian Anderson’s new Hallelujah for chorus and orchestra, the OAE and the London Sinfonietta will combine for Purcell, Handel and Birtwistle, and the Philharmonia, conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi, will perform the finale to Beethoven’s Ninth. But most impressive of all should be all four groups performing together in the great tribute to the crescendo that is Ravel’s Boléro.

Then it’s down to business. The two opening salvos for the Philharmonia and LPO, on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, are personal tributes to the two conductors involved. The Philharmonia’s chief conductor-designate, Esa-Pekka Salonen, will conduct Mahler’s mighty Third Symphony, the piece that gave him his “big break” back in 1983. Jurowski, meanwhile, tackles Prokofiev’s Symphony No 5 – the first piece he conducted with them. On Thursday, the man who gave the last recital at the Hall, the peerless pianist Alfred Brendel, pictured below left, returns again to kick off the International Piano Series with Haydn, Schubert and Beethoven.

Then watch for the premieres. On Friday the London Sinfonietta mark the festivities at the Queen Elizabeth Hall by performing Mark-Anthony Turnage’s About Water, a collaboration (yes, there’s that word again) with the jazz singer Barb Jungr. And on July 12, the OAE makes a rare foray into new writing by linking up again with the Sinfonietta to perform Heiner Goebbels’s Wars I Have Seen. Not just an orchestral exploration of the different sound worlds of the two groups, the piece will also include text by Gertrude Stein recited by female members of the two orchestras. Those who prefer the OAE’s more natural territory will no doubt instead be attending their 21st birthday party on June 30, boasting no fewer than four conductors in one thrilling-sounding evening.

The test lies in the consistency. Once the hubbub dies down, will the different groups and agendas continue to align? In truth, we won’t know until all the new South Bank Centre concert strands begin in the autumn, headlined by the return of the big international orchestras that have spent two years flashing their wares at the Barbican. But with four impressive new seasons already announced by four self-confident ensembles, the home teams look like they’re ready to take them on.

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