The Seventh Symphony of Gustav Mahler presents as great a challenge as any musician might fear, but by late Saturday afternoon it was rapidly growing more difficult for the London Symphony Orchestra.

Although they had arrived in Dijon, in eastern France, in plenty of time for their concert at 8pm, it appeared that they would have to perform without most of their instruments, their music and, in many cases, their clothes, all of which were in a lorry on the other side of the Channel that was edging slowly through Kent in a tailback caused by striking French ferry workers.

That evening Kathryn McDowell, the managing director of the LSO, told the audience that the orchestra had decided not to cancel its performance. Instead, the musicians had embarked on a frantic attempt to beg and borrow nearly 100 instruments from across Burgundy. Mrs McDowell told The Times: “Normally when we are travelling a third of the instruments are carried by hand. This time we had played on Friday night. People were going home and then getting up to go straight to the airport, and we thought it would be easier to put nearly all the instruments in the lorry.”

Alas, the orchestra had not been aware of the strike by SeaFrance workers that had led to huge queues on the roads of southern Kent. On Saturday morning they remained hopeful that the instruments would arrive, but they made a tentative inquiry with the organisers in Dijon: was there any chance that they might lay their hands on 28 violins, 11 violas, a full complement of cellos and double bases, two flutes - ideally solid silver – bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, tubas, various percussion instruments, timpani and some cow bells?

The town of Dijon has a relatively new concert hall – the Auditorium – and it is attempting to establish itself as a venue for Europe’s best orchestras. There had been great excitement at the imminent arrival of the LSO and the concert had sold out.

The concert organisers immediately appealed to local musicians, to the local music school and to opera companies as far away as Paris and Lyon. By mid-afternoon things had become desperate. The lorry had come to a complete standstill. It would not make it. Among the orchestra’s more difficult requirements were a tenor tuba in B flat, and four German bassoons. “The French bassoon is totally different from the German ones we play,” Mrs McDowell explained.

Musicians came from miles away to lend their instruments. A violin came from Anne Mercier, a soloist. Matthew Gibson, 39, was lent a double bass by the local academy. “They came in dribs and drabs,” he said. “Some didn’t get instruments until ten minutes before we went on. Tuba players had to adjust to instruments a fourth below the ones they were used to.”

Assembling a full complement of instruments was only half the battle. They still had to play. “Fortunately our conductor, Valery Gergiev, is very good in a crisis,” Mrs McDowell said. A third of the players went on in jeans and T-shirts. Midway through the symphony the violas found a page missing in their hastily printed scores and were forced to improvise.

Gareth Davies, the principal flautist, played “a very exposed solo” on a tin flute without a bottom B key. “The shop owner didn’t want to lend me his solid silver flute as it would tarnish,” he said. “The tin one was the same model I had learnt on when I was ten. I felt I had come full circle.” The audience in Dijon gave the orchestra a rapturous ovation. Paul Sanders, 40, a professor at a local business school and a classical music fan, said: “The strings were excellent. Maybe the brass were a little off from time to time but they were all playing different instruments. I think everyone was immensely impressed.”

Mr Gibson, the double bassist, said that the orchestra had come together. “It was Dunkirk spirit,” he said yesterday afternoon.

Then he had to go. The instruments had arrived just in time for their performance in Paris. He was due on stage in five minutes.

Explore Music

• Festivals

• CD Reviews

• Live Reviews

• Classical

Editor's choice

• U2 at Nou Camp Stadium, Barcelona
• The 50 Best Movie Villains
• The 15 golden rules of theatre etiquette