LENOX -- Weirdly, the cancellation of Tanglewood’s closing Beethoven Ninth by Hurricane Irene seemed a preordained conclusion to the season.

The augury, in retrospect, was James Levine’s resignation last March, causing him to miss a second consecutive summer. Four replacement conductors were added to the roster of 13 already scheduled, making a total of 17 -- seven in debuts -- for the 22 Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts.

The podium became a revolving door. For every newcomer who delivered, such as Jaap van Zweden (originally scheduled) and John Storgaards (replacement), there was a Pablo Heras-Casado or Lionel Bringuier (both scheduled) who fell short.

The veteran Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Christoph von Dohnányi were good as gold, as usual. But even some of the old reliables -- notably, Charles Dutoit and Kurt Masur -- didn’t measure up to past performance. Two stalwart soloists, cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Harrell, were also off their form, adding to the sense of imbalance.

Accustomed to quick changes in podium styles and personalities, including different preferences in seating, the BSO played well under the circumstances. But there was a constant sense of flux, of rise and fall, as if the season were on unsteady ground. Then on the final day, the storm: the first cancellation of a BSO concert because of weather in the festival’s 75-year history.

Levine, whose series of health-related absences put an end to seven-year tenure as music director, was missed in the BSO and Tanglewood Music Center concerts he would have led (and the TMC classes he would have given). But he would also have brought greater consistency to a season that hop-scotched around among composers, periods and styles as well as conductors.

As managing director Mark Volpe observed in an end-of-season interview, "Whether there’s a music director or not, there are always concerts that are better than others." He cited such variables as weather conditions (of which nature provided extreme case) and scheduling considerations.

Yet, Volpe added, veteran conductors such as Dohnányi, Dutoit and Masur, who have worked with the BSO for decades, "think the orchestra is in the best shape it’s been in, possibly ever." That would be a testament to Levine’s orchestra-building skills.

In conversations with players, Volpe said, he found sadness that Levine had been forced resign yet relief that the "debilitating" uncertainty of his availability was past. With the bevy of new guest conductors expected during the Boston season, the players are "kind of excited about the future," he said.

Even without Levine as an opera champion, two full-length operas, both in concert form, lent luster to the season. Under Bramwell Tovey, the BSO gave a dazzling performance of "Porgy and Bess." The week before, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, under Nicholas McGegan, visited with a sumptuous rendition of Handel’s "Orlando."

And if the season was uneven in the conducting department, it featured excellent piano soloists, both new and old. Among newcomers, Yuja Wang and Martin Helmchen made strong first impressions. Among regulars, Emanuel Ax and Jean-Yves Thibaudet were masterly in the music at hand.

As in previous Ozawa Hall surveys of individual composers’ solo or sonata output, Thibaudet’s two-night cycle of Ravel’s complete piano music was a season highlight. He topped it off with the two Ravel piano concertos with the BSO. Among other excellent soloists, violinist Nikolaj Znaider was outstanding in a BSO and recital debut.

As always, there were also memorable TMC events. Two that remain vivid in retrospect are the Stefan Asbury-led performance of Rachmaninoff’s "Symphonic Dances" with the TMC Orchestra and an imaginative evening of song built around three short operas by Darius Milhaud.

The BSO is clearly in a period of transition following the loss of its music director, but Volpe said there is no sense of urgency in the search for a successor.

The coming Boston season, he said, will be anchored by such longtime guest conductors as Dohnányi and Bernard Haitink, and a selection of new conductors will offer variety. They’ll also offer possible candidates for the music director vacancy, though the search process is guarded as secretly as the White House nuclear codes.

Next summer will bring Tanglewood’s 75th-anniversary celebration. Volpe promises special programming. Among other things, he said. without offering details, some of the original programming will be revisited.

While plans are incomplete, Volpe also hopes to repeat the past summer’s two-week pre-BSO season of popular attractions, which featured such perennials as James Taylor, Garrison Keillor and the Boston Pops along with a Popular Artists concert.

The programming was a success in terms of audiences and income for the BSO, and pleased area innkeepers and restaurateurs as well. A similar "shoulder season" post-BSO also is possible, Volpe said, but is it harder to staff because college students who provide much of the summer help have gone back to school. Meanwhile, the Labor Day weekend jazz festival begins tonight.

Despite losses stemming from the national economy, Volpe pronounced the BSO in good overall health financially, with Tanglewood attendance running five percent above last year’s before the final weekend’s washout. Money speaks, but so does the weather.