I love the songs and operas of Kurt Weill - anyone who can write September Song has very few faults.

But one of his less-pleasing pieces is his Second Symphony.

Don't get me wrong, it's not unpleasant and its third, and last, movement is splendidly rousing but the piece lacks a grand central tune.

Instead there are lots of little bits including a pretty good second movement although it is rather funereal. It was brave of the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra to perform it as a centre piece of its Brighton Festival Concert.

Barry Wordsworth and his players had a good grip on the work and played with force and obvious enthusiasm; an enthusiasm shared by the audience. But it paled in significance compared with the reading of Beethoven's great Violin Concerto and his overture Coriolan.

The overture was given its due majesty and might with a perfect interpretation of this wonderfully-patriotic work.

Even better was the Violin Concerto performed by Israeli soloist Hagai Shaham. If you wanted heart-tugging beauty, it was there in spades.

Using cadenzas written by Kreisler and with Barry Wordsworth and his musicians on top form, this was a reading that bruised the emotions, twisting them this way and that and sucking the audience into a tornado of beautiful music.

This concert will remain in the memory for a long while.

Mike Howard
Hove Town Hall, Church Road, Hove, Sunday