Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Alice Farnham
Violin: Elena Urioste
Brighton Dome, 19 October 2025
Entitled “The Romantics” this concert presented two works written within in a few years of each other in the early twentieth century: the final flowering of romanticism with modernist twists.
Despite its early success Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s violin concerto has long since ceased to be mainstream repertoire. Enter Elena Urioste who champions it enthusiastically. After the decisive opening orchestral statements she sailed into the complexities of the first movement right through to the mysterious, captitvating cadenza played over a sustained timp roll. Like all good soloists she makes it look effortless as well as energetic. The middle movement is gently attractive and played with warmth by Urioste, in her bright floral dress, with a stunning harmonic at the end. And the many moods of the last movement – Elgar meets Dvorak – were nicely nailed.
Urioste’s witty, poignant, encore: variations on “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” then came as a miniature delight.
Throughout this concert I was struck by Alice Farnham’s conducting style. It’s big-scale but business like with clear attention to beating time. It’s also lively: at times both her feet leave the ground. And there’s a clear rapport between her and the orchestra’s charismatic leader, Ruth Rogers.
Now I have to admit that most Mahler is not quite to my taste. In general I find it too fulsomely self-indulgent. This, however, was as good an account of the gruelling fifth symphony as I’ve ever heard. I do wish, however, that it hadn’t been populistically advertised as the “Death in Venice” symphony. Yes, the famous fourth movement Adagietto, scored for strings with harp, is stunningly beautiful but it works much better played in context, after the third movement’s troubled waltz as here, than when it’s extracted or cheapened. Alice Farnham allowed it to emerge like the mist clearing from a shimmering lake with masses of vibrato and elasticity. And I, for one, certainly wasn’t thinking about Visconti and Dirk Bogarde as I listened, in awe at the quality of control.
Other highlights in this performance including noteworthy work from the tuba, some terrific trumpet playing especially in the first movement and a pleasing bassoon solo at the opening of the final movement. Nonetheless I left thinking first, that after 70 minutes or that intensity every BPO player must be exhausted and second, that I am still not greatly enamoured of much of Mahler’s music.
