Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra welcome 2023 in style

We can't possibly see the year out without the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra's Viennese New Year's Eve concert at the Brighton Dome. The near-packed audience confirmed the success of these annual celebrations.

Conductor Stephen Bell and Soprano Ailish Tynan seem to be a foregone combination when it comes to Viennese New Year's Eve concerts. So there we were last Saturday, Stephen in his silk backed waistcoat, Ailish in her sparkling long dresses. And on this occasion the orchestra ladies wore their own dresses, while the men were in smart black. And of course we knew the 19th and 20th century light music composers would have our toes tapping and shoulders bobbing.

So, with 18 assorted works on the programme, we settled into the comforting, uplifting melodies of Johann Strauss's waltzes, mixed with Joseph Lanner - an active contemporary of Johann Strauss's Dad; loose contemporaries Erich Korngold living till 1957; Rimsky-Korsakov (1908); Robert Heuberger (1914); Robert Stolz (1975).

And right in the middle of it, we enjoy a calm, peaceful and tuneful melody by present day Norwegian-Swedish composer Christine Hals, known for her film scores like "Frozen". Stephen throws his body around when he conducts, all but dancing on the podium in his enthusiasm to ensure each instrument and section comes in at the right time. It's a joy to watch. So we started with a bouncy trumpet opening by Franz von Suppé's (1819-95) Light Cavalry Overture - with lots of timpani and percussion at the rear.

Always wondered how the tympanist knows which of the three large drums to play at the right time, and once I saw him put his ear to the drum. "It's a bit like a brass instrument," said Graham Reader, who's been with the Phil for nearly 20 years; "I try and think about pulling the note out of the instrument, rather than hitting in to the instrument; you attack the note in a different way according to the score. It's an accompanying instrument," he added, "it's important to remember that."

And then there's that young lady Donna-Maria Landowski, tucked in the left hand back corner, with her well timed triangle taps, a bit of xylophone and other small occasional effects. Not to mention smoosh sound that came from a stick thing during the Champagne Polka! An indefinable sound. And Ailish comes in with that cheeky song from Franz Léhar's opera Giuditta : "Mein Lippen sie küssen so heiss" - "My lips they kiss so hot. Every kiss is like wine". She sang two songs by another Austrian 19th century composer: Richard Heuberger (who gave up engineering to become a musician); and his "Chambre Séparée from "Der Opernball", Ailish's lovely voice expressing the melody's full beauty; and later Robert Stolz's (1880-1975) "Du Sollst der Kaiser meiner Seele sein". A composer who overlapped Johann Strauss's latter years.

A sprinkling of Strauss's waltzes and polkas peppered the concert - name one and it was possibly there: Roses from the South; a couple from Die Fledermaus; Pizzicato Polka and the Emperor Waltz to end. Stephen Bell's irrepressible sense of humour gave us some 'groan' jokes at the end of the first half. Audience members sent them. With enthusiastic clapping, and after enormous accolades Ailish gave us the encore of "Vilja" from Léhar's "The Merry Widow". We usually know what to expect at these New Year's Eve concerts, and that's what we go for, but there's always something fresh to look forward to, to leave us Invigorated and ready for anything the New Year will bring.

Next Brighton Philharmonic concert: 21 January 730pm, Brighton Dome. £10 "Love Music" tickets available. 01273 709709 or online.