Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth

The Dome, Brighton, 27 January 2013

The heart of this programme was a fine performance of Bach’s C minor concerto for Violin and Oboe. Soloists Daniel Bhattacharya and Alun Darbyshire were not only highly professional but clearly worked together with the sense of delight and rapport which leads to enjoyment both on the platform and in the audience. The opening movement had a clear cutting edge while the sublime adagio never drifted into sentimentality.

Throughout the afternoon the woodwind were noteworthy. Bassoon soloist Gavin McNaughton has a surprisingly exposed roll in Haydn’s Symphony No 98 with a mellifluous solo in the Menuetto .(Will he be opening The Rite of Spring for us?) The symphony ends with one of Haydn’s little in-jokes. The first violin has a number of solos, almost jazz breaks, and then suddenly there is a harpsichord break just before the end, played originally by the composer. While Alistair Young obviously enjoyed his brief moment of fame, I wondered why Barry Wordsworth did not play the part himself.

The concert concluded with Mozart’s Symphony No39. Again the woodwind impressed in the trio and were engaged throughout, though the symphony as a whole, and the Haydn in the first half, did not have the panache and dynamic impact we have come to expect of this orchestra. BH