Preview: Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra welcomes two of Britain’s most talented young artists

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra
Sun 15 Jan, 2.45pm

Ben Gernon conductor
Joseph Moog piano

Peter Back previews the next BPO concert

The guest soloist with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra on Sunday afternoon will be the brilliant young German pianist Joseph Moog. Described by Radio Bremen as ‘a treasure hunter with supernatural abilities’, he not only seeks out, and champions, rare and forgotten repertoire but also breathes new life into established classics such as the Grieg Piano Concerto, the central work in Sunday’s concert. His fresh take on this perennially popular piece excited critics when it was featured on his ninth CD in 2015, for which he was nominated for a GRAMMY. The Orchestra will be conducted by Ben Gernon, recognised by the BBC Music Magazine as their 2013 ‘Rising Star: Great Artist of tomorrow’. He made his BBC Prom Debut in 2014, and has since conducted extensively across the UK, Europe, Japan and the USA. He has been praised repeatedly for his effortless authority on the podium, his drive and command of the orchestra and his incisive, heart-felt and evocative interpretations. The combination of Moog and Gernon, two exceptional and original talents, promises a very special performance of the Grieg Concerto on Sunday afternoon at Brighton Dome.

The Barber of Seville is generally regarded to be Rossini’s operatic masterpiece; the famous Overture he provided for it was originally written for an opera set in the third century about the Emperor Aurelian. All the same, its mixture of wit, frivolity, excitement and grace sets the scene perfectly for the action that follows, and is the ideal opener for the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra’s first concert of 2017.

The main work in the concert is Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, a work in which he gives free reign to his melodic invention. In fact, for some early critics the abundance of musically enthralling and beautiful ideas contained in it were felt to be way over the top. I suspect that few concert goers feel that way today.

Preview by Peter Back