“Adrian Brown has a long-standing history of planning imaginative programmes and this one was no exception…The score sparkled under his baton and the horns distinguished themselves from the very beginning. [The Delius violin concerto] has a real beauty in sound, with hidden strengths in both form and content. These were exposed to our ears by Foyle through his expressive and confident manner and by Brown whose knowledge and experience of Delius’s style is second-to-none. This performance was assisted by the careful guidance to the orchestra from Brown in the many “diaphanous and fragmentary” sections heard in the score. Like the Delius concerto, Sibelius’s Sixth Symphony struggles to receive performances these days, particularly from our professional orchestras…Brown’s intuitive sense paid dividends in his choice of tempi in each movement so that the logic Sibelius conjures before our ears results in a work that is integrated to such a remarkable degree. The playing was of a high standard and the performance showed great perspicacity on behalf of all concerned. It was followed by lighter Sibelius, the better known Karelia Suite, full of charm and good tunes. It ended the concert in high spirits.”
“Adrian Brown has a long-standing history of planning imaginative programmes and this one was no exception…The score sparkled under his baton and the horns distinguished themselves from the very beginning. [The Delius violin concerto] has a real beauty in sound, with hidden strengths in both form and content. These were exposed to our ears by Foyle through his expressive and confident manner and by Brown whose knowledge and experience of Delius’s style is second-to-none. This performance was assisted by the careful guidance to the orchestra from Brown in the many “diaphanous and fragmentary” sections heard in the score. Like the Delius concerto, Sibelius’s Sixth Symphony struggles to receive performances these days, particularly from our professional orchestras…Brown’s intuitive sense paid dividends in his choice of tempi in each movement so that the logic Sibelius conjures before our ears results in a work that is integrated to such a remarkable degree. The playing was of a high standard and the performance showed great perspicacity on behalf of all concerned. It was followed by lighter Sibelius, the better known Karelia Suite, full of charm and good tunes. It ended the concert in high spirits.”
Edward Clark, President of the UK Sibelius Society, May 2023