This concert with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra marked the UK debut of Frenchman Ludovic Morlot. Trained in London, Morlot has been James Levine's assistant at the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2004, and is well regarded for his work in America as well as in Europe. However, on this showing, he seemed a workmanlike rather than a particularly inspiring conductor, not yet equal to the sum of impressive connections referenced in his bio.

Morlot's approach to the music of his compatriot, Claude Debussy, which framed the programme, was methodical. Even though the CBSO's principal flautist, Marie-Christine Zupancic, brought a gorgeous sound to the opening Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un Faune, the subtle haze of the orchestral colouring which made this such an epoch-making piece was never convincingly achieved. Similarly, the symphonic triptych, La Mer, often felt rather pedestrian, with only the final movement capturing the truly sensuous swell of the music and suggesting Morlot's mettle.

Sibelius's Lemminkäinen and the Maidens on the Island - the least familiar of his cycle of pieces based on the Finnish epic Kalevala, included to reinforce the overall theme of seduction and water - lacked any compelling narrative clarity. So the redeeming factor was the performance of Britten's Nocturne. Tenor Toby Spence lent an alluring tone to the highest notes and had the suppleness to bring off the swooping long phrases. But it was in the carefully balanced relationship of voice with the seven obbligato instruments and strings that the strength of Britten's dream-like setting emerged, revealing it as passionate, subversive and playful.