VIENNA may have the best and truly authentic New Year's Viennese Concert but the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra have made a name for themselves with their annual fundraiser a few hours earlier on New Year's Eve.
And they have the bonus of being able to sing Auld Lang Syne, as regular guest conductor Stephen Bell pointed out to the Dome faithful.
While the Vienna Phil's offering this year had a distinctly French feel, down to wonderfully animated octogenar
ian conductor Georges Pretre, the 20th Brighton version had a slant from south of the Alps.
Strauss' Italian inspirations appeared in the vocal version of Where the Lemon Trees Bloom and A Night in Venice, while more authentic Italian fare came from Verdi's La Traviata and O sole mio.
The vocal content is another area where the concerts differ and the Brighton Phil were well served by Polish American soprano Pamela Hay and home grown tenor Lynton Atkinson. They certainly got their money's worth out of Hay, who was given scope to show her acting skills as well as an excellent voice.
Conductor Bell had to tone down the orchestra a little to stop them swamping the singers but as always, the Phil, under leader John Bradbury, provided technical expertise even if the players do not have the Strauss family, Vienna and the Danube pulsing through their very being.
They seem comfortable under the baton of Bell, who again proved a perfect host and looked delighted to be back at the Dome after a couple of years in 'exile' at Eastbourne. He told a good joke and despite being embarrassed at getting the year wrong, was a mine of information about the pieces being played and the masters who penned them.
The Brighton Phil's new year season gets underway on Sunday week (January 13) with a concert featuring French violinist Raphael Oleg playing the Brahms Violin Concerto in D. He is a powerful performer and one of the few non-Russians ever to have been awarded the Gold Medal in the Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition.
Also included is Weber's Overture from Euryanthe and Dvorak's Symphony No 6 in D.
That will be followed closely by an unusual Friday evening slot on January 18, when musical director Barry Wordsworth will no doubt be particularly delighted to be conducting some of his beloved ballet music, in the form of the 1947 version of Stravinsky's Petrushka.
Brighton resident and world famous pianist Artur Pizarro also plays Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F but the concert's main claim to fame will be the world premiere of their own commission from composer in focus Martin Butler, another Brighton resident, From the Fairground of Dreams.
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