REVIEW: Brighton Philharmonic home and away

HOME AND AWAY was playing at the Dome on Sunday, October 24, but while the Aussie soap probably is not the cup of tea of many of the Brighton Philharmonic regulars, a largely popular programme certainly was.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Oct 2010, 11:43 BST

And with the excellent orchestra’s equally excellent principal flute Christine Messiter playing the novelty piece in the programme, Carl Nielsen’s Flute Concerto, there was an extra edge to the home support.

Providing the away element was the choice of the programme.

Nielsen, who completed the work in 1926, was a Dane, while the other two far more widely performed pieces, Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No 1 and Dvorak’s New World Symphony, both hailing from the previous century, offer a strong taste of Norway and a mix of Czechoslovakia and America.

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The charm and quality of the more popular pieces was splendidly displayed in the playing of the BPO under their widely renowned music director Barry Wordsworth, who made no apology for choosing those and also added that the Flute Concerto had been a personal favourite since student days.

It is a far from easy piece to play but Messiter clearly loves it too and gave a performance of consummate skill.

It is most memorable for the dialogues between the principal instrument and both the clarinet and bass trombone.

The latter choice of instrument is surprising in more ways than one and the trombone has the final joke with what programme notes writer Peter Back describes as “some very improper glissandi.”

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The emotive and tuneful Peer Gynt Suite will largely be instantly recognisable to many classical music listeners in the form of Morning, Anitra’s Dance and In the Hall of the Mountain King but personally The Death of Ase was not quite so familiar and provided much pleasure with its muted strings.

New World again is like an old friend but given fresh life by the accomplished BPO.

Wordsworth explained that morning rehearsals had been attended by 120 youngsters and there are plans to launch a junior membership section of the BPO.

They will surely have found plenty to enjoy in this choice of programme and if it tempts them to talk their parents into buying tickets for the next concert in the winter series on November 14, again there should be something for everyone.

This time it will be the BPO’s outstanding principal cellist Peter Adams who takes centre in a programme of Walton, Bruch, Butterworth, Faure and Elgar.