It was a return to the core repertoire for the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) on Saturday evening.
Conductor Barry Wordsworth sat this concert out, allowing Shuntaro Sato, associate conductor of the English Chamber Orchestra, to take over the band, eschewing the baton in favour of his hands.
A giant of a fellow, with jet black hair and black tail coat, he resembled a friendly beetle, but a beetle with tons of energy who brought out some meaty music-making from the orchestra and rapturous applause from the audience. He produced a magnificent reading of Tchaikovsky's Fantasy-overture Romeo and Juliet and a flawless performance of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, The Pastoral.
And passion was the keynote of the evening when he teamed up with violinist Nicola Loud for an exciting and yearning performance of Mendelssohn's E-minor violin concerto.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article