Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra opens its 81st season on Sunday afternoon with a much-loved Beethoven work and an epic symphony by Gustav Mahler.

Conductor Barry Wordsworth will raise his baton on a performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Kings Backa Piano Trio and after the interval the full orchestra will perform the lush music of Mahler's first symphony, The Titan.

Between now and the beginning of next April, the BPO will perform 14 concerts using 30 soloists and three venues and will also show a major documentary film.

One of the first highlights of the season will be On The Shoulders Of Giants (Dome Concert Hall, Oct 2), a concert for the Brighton Early Music Festival in which virtuoso jazz violinist Christian Garrick will perform the full version of Astor Piazzolla's The Four Seasons which mixes tango and classical themes for a modern take on Vivaldi's masterpiece.

On October 30 Ben Wallfisch, of the famous Wallfisch family, takes over the baton for Freddie Kempf's performance of the Grieg Piano Concerto.

The concert will also include Grieg's Holburg Suite and Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, described by Wagner as the apotheosis of the dance.

Other soloists this year include pianist Howard Shelley (April 2) and Melvyn Tan (March 6), violinists Phillippe Graffin (December 4) and Daniel Khalikov (January 22), as well as members of the orchestra and local guitar virtuoso Richard Durrant.

January will bring the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth and to mark this occasion the BPO will devote five concerts to the man's work and influences.

The celebrations will begin on February 12 at the Theatre Royal, with a concert of highlights from his four greatest operas: The Marriage Of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutte and The Magic Flute.

Other events include a concert of Mozart's first and last symphonies (Feb 19) and, on March 12, the unveiling of local film director Phil Grabski's documentary film on Mozart's life, which is said to redress all the myths perpetuated by Amadeus.

The orchestra's annual New Year's Eve Viennese concert will also take place at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne The season will formally end back at the Dome on April 2 with what promises to be a sumptuous performance of Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 7, the Sinfonia Antarctica, along with Benjamin Britten's Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes and a rare performance of Andrew Foulds' Dynamic Triptych.