When the Brighton Festival Chorus let rip with the opening lines of Dvorak's Opus 103 Te Deum, I began to feel for the structure of the Dome. And while the BFC remains at the top of its game, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra added to its rich sounds to please a rapturous audience.

Brighton is starved of foreign orchestras and the unique sound of Middle European music being played by Middle European musicians is rare and a joy to hear.

The conductor, Libor Pesek, is an orchestra leader of the old school and a firm believer in the economy of movement. Never leaping around like conductors of the modern school, Pesek just gently raises an arm or waves a hand and produces sheer magic.

The opening piece, Dvorak's Carnival Overture, was fresh and flawless, the rising intensity of Janacek's Taras Bulba was masterly and impressive.

But the highlight for me was Chloe Hanslip's reading of Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy. This young lady, pictured, barely 20 years old, who made her professional debut at the age of four, is a violinist who could well outstrip her peers. She has a mellow soft sound, ideally suited for the haunting melancholy of this particular piece.