From the Fairground of Dreams is by Martin Butler, Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra's first Composer in Focus, and was commissioned by the BPO with funding from the Arts Trust of Brighton and Hove. It proved a considerable challenge for a wide orchestral palette - notably the timpani - as did Gershwin's Piano Concerto and Stravinsky's Petrushka which followed.

My first impresssion of the Brighton-themed piece is the softness of its harp and flute opening which suggested the dripping of raindrops.

The rhythmic beat is steady and, interestingly, conductor Barry Wordsworth eschewed the use of a baton shaping the quick and subtle changes of light and shade in the music with his hands. He reminded me of a fielder playing close to the bat.

Fairground of Dreams is crafted in two parts with the first being a short introduction to the second. Its various ideas develop organically as the strings chart a series of circular episodes.

Fairground rides and traffic sounds are suggested but the word `dreams' is the most important part of the title for this is a musical impression. Detailed and thought provoking, it's a spider's web of closely woven complexity.

Like Prospero's island it is full of strange sounds and enchantments and, in the composer's presence, the piece was well received by a generous evening audience comprising a wider age range than usual.

There is never any doubt where you believe you are when listening to Gershwin's glitzy Piano Concerto. Each performance is like a visit to the Big Apple and, in this context, it is illuminating to note that the work was commissioned by Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony Orchestra.

On this occasion it was brilliantly played by the Portuguese soloist Artur Pizarro, making his third Dome appearance. Through his responsive, darting fingers and the great orchestral outburts, it was possible to see the yellow cabs, the lights of Broadway and the bluesy nightclubs.

I swear I heard Louis Armstrong, thanks to the big sound and yearning trumpet of John Ellwood.

At the end, Pizarro almost swept us away with the mighty Slaughter on Tenth Avenue-like theme, as did the guy on the J Arthur Rank gong. What a moment! The soloist later gallantly handed his bouquet to principal flautist Christine Messiter who was also much involved in the performance.

After the interval she had another important role at a different kind of fairground. This time it was the Shrovetide one in the 1947 version of Stravinsky's Petrushka.

Again there was a chance to splash the colours around and Wordsworth's reading had a highly charged sense of drama, tempi and appreciation of the music's exhilarating qualities.

The concert is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Tuesday, February 5, and will be a splendid advert for the BPO and its regard for new music.