A selection of soloists from the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) took centre stage for a concert demonstrating its abilities at chamber orchestra size.

Harpist Emma Granger teamed up with flautist Clare Bentley for a wonderfully warm and touching reading of Mozart's Flute And Harp Concerto, while orchestra leader John Bradbury gave a dazzling reading of Dvorak's Romance In F Minor.

Cut down in size it may have been but conductor Barry Wordsworth still produced a big sound from his players.

Emma and Clare were beautifully precise and hit the emotions straight on, threatening to bring tears to my eyes in the slow movement of the Mozart piece.

Clare's flute-playing was heavenly and, in her duets with Emma, something more than the sum of its parts was going on.

Similarly Bradbury's solo was breathtakingly well done. Always a treat at any BPO concert, Bradbury should be billed as soloist far more often.

With the opening work, Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony, there was a curious end piece, Brahms' Serenade No 2.

After the wonderful lightness of what had gone before, it came as something of a shock in its heaviness.

Serenades call out for violins but this work eschews them and uses only violas and cellos in the string section.

It was a puzzling, sombre, somewhat ugly work to end what was otherwise a beautiful programme.