Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra – William Dutton (violin) Barry Wordsworth (conductor)

With stormy weather everywhere else, we enjoyed a lovely spring day in Brighton that was echoed in this delightful concert. The BPO gave a suitably mannered performance of Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, bright and cheery. I could easily imagine the periwigs and brocade livery appropriate to Haydn’s final symphony, ‘London’ (Hob.104) in the second half.

The treasure of this programme, however, was William Dutton’s début performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. He may still be at the Yehudi Menuhin School but he delivered the assured interpretation of an established star. His encore of Albéniz’s fiendish ‘Asturias’ was sensational! Please come back soon!

Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 10 February 2014
Rating:
Andrew Connal