Since reviving his relationship with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2002, Christoph von Dohnanyi has become one of its most regular and prized guest conductors. At 83, he exudes a rare authority on the podium and can be trusted to produce not only lucid accounts of complex pieces, but dynamic, unshowy performances of traditional repertory.

And repertory doesn’t get much more traditional than the concert he conducted on Thursday, the first of his two BSO programs this season.