The opening concert of the Sussex Symphony Orchestra’s new season was a truly thrilling affair.
Conducted by Mark Andrew James at All Saints Church on Saturday, the show finished with a no-holds-barred performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. The only element missing was the sound of real cannons.
Before that rousing finale, we were promised An Evening of Sheer Musical Energy. The bill of fare suggested that this would be the case, and so it proved.
Other works in the programme included compositions by Marquez, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov and Offenbach.
The Conga del Fuego by Arturo Marquez – popularised by the Simon Bolivar Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel – almost inspired dancing in the aisles. The Mariachi-style trumpet solo was a joy to hear.
Many artists have referenced and adapted Ravel’s Bolero. These include Frank Zappa, Torvill and Dean and Rufus Wainwright.
The SSO played the full bells and whistles orchestral version of this mesmerising masterpiece, a work described by the composer as having no music in it. The performance featured some outstanding solo work from the wind and brass sections.
Fans of ample petticoats that could and should be rustled were thrilled to hear Offenbach’s overture to Orpheus in the Underworld, complete with Can-Can, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s wonderful Capriccio Espagnol – evocatively Spanish but with a few hints of Mother Russia in there too.
The next concert in the SSO series (November 15) will feature Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, John Williams’ Hymn to the Fallen and Mars from The Planets by Gustav Holst.
A Christmas concert – in conjunction with the Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus – follows on 20 December.
On March 14 next year the orchestra will perform Rachmaninov and Borodin.
The final concert in the series, on May 16, will be an Opera Gala with works by Puccini, Bizet and Verdi.
