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Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra
Barry Wordsworth
Principal Conductor
John Bradbury
Leader
Martin Butler
Composer in Focus
Links:
Alison Balsom trumpet
Brighton Festival Chorus
Andrew Brownell piano
Martin Butler composer
Martin Butler composer
Paul Daniel conductor
Chloe Hanslip violin
John Harle saxophone
John Lill piano
Raphael Oleg violin
Artur Pizarro piano
Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra
On 18 May 1925 a small band of musicians gave their first concert together in Hove Town Hall under the direction of Herbert Menges. Their aim: ‘to become a large and powerful String Orchestra, and to give periodical Concerts of a high standard in Brighton and Hove.’
82 years, over 1,000 concerts and just 3 Principal Conductors later, the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the leading professional orchestras on the south coast and continues to go from strength to strength.
The original ‘Symphonic String Players’ of 1925 soon outgrew Hove Town Hall, and in 1928 the fully-orchestral ‘Symphonic Players’ moved to the Brighton Dome. Herbert Menges remained as Principal Conductor and in 1932 Sir Thomas Beecham appeared as a Guest Conductor and became the Orchestra’s first President. Two years later the Dome closed for refurbishment and the Orchestra returned to Hove Town Hall but on its return to the Dome the concerts continued to grow, with appearances from artists such as Rubinstein, Schnabel, Solomon and Dame Myra Hess.
Hess succeeded Beecham as President (and was later followed by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten), but probably the greatest change in the orchestra’s history came in 1972 when Herbert Menges died after 47 years as Principal Conductor. The appointment of John Carewe as Musical Director and Principal Conductor heralded a new era for the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra (as it had been renamed in 1958), Carewe’s first appearance marking the start of the 50th anniversary season.
The parade of international soloists continued, with names such as John Lill, Mitsuko Uchida, Nigel Kennedy, James Galway and Gillian Weir all appearing with the Orchestra and in 1989 Barry Wordsworth succeeded Carewe as the BPO’s Principal Conductor. One of the UK’s most sought-after conductors, Wordsworth also holds positions as Conductor Laureate of the BBC Concert Orchestra and Music Director of the Royal Ballet.
In 1999 the Brighton Dome closed again for refurbishment and the BPO returned once more to Hove Town Hall, as well as giving a Mozart Piano Concerto series in Brighton’s Theatre Royal with John Lill, the orchestra’s current President, as soloist.
In 2002 the Brighton Dome Concert Hall re-opened, since which time more than 50,000 tickets have been sold to to sold to the BPO’s concerts in it’s much-improved home venue. 2004 saw the orchestra’s first broadcast for BBC Radio 3, in 2005 it celebrated its 80th anniversary and in 2006 it presented a highly acclaimed Mozart series, an extremely popular Family Concert and its second broadcast for BBC Radio 3.
The 2006-07 season, themed around ‘Orchestral Images’ was heralded as ‘probably one of the best seasons in the 82-year history of the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra’ (Mid Sussex Times) from an ‘orchestra at the very top of its game’ (The Argus.)