RLPO / Rattle, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool

After his triumph in Liverpool last month with the Berlin Philharmonic, Sir Simon Rattle returned to his home city and, this time, the orchestra of which he was associate conductor in the 1970s. The event was a gem in the European Capital of Culture's crown. Of the two excerpts from Götterdämmerung, "Siegfried's Journey to the Rhine" wasn't the kindest opener with its tricky brass introduction. That negotiated, the players relaxed into a vivid sunrise and the hero's musical descent. Later, "Siegfried's Death and Funeral March" made its sombre impact, its tautness the touchstone of a great performance.

Between these "bleeding chunks" of Wagner came the world premiere of Brett Dean's Songs of Joy, three numbers from his opera-in-progress based on Peter Carey's novel Bliss. The songs (lyrics by Amanda Holden) were sung by Dean's Australian compatriot, the baritone Peter Coleman-Wright. He presented a real, urgently communicative character with charm and pathos, performing difficult vocal lines with conviction and flair. The instrumental writing is fascinating, with individual effects adding to the texture, though never at the expense of the music's impetus.

In 1975, aged 20, Rattle conducted Sibelius's Fifth Symphony at his first concert with the RLPO. Returning to it, he secured a rapt response from the strings and marvellously lucid wind playing, leading the orchestra into a world of expressive detail, now boldly sweeping, now nuanced. "God opens the door for a moment and his orchestra was playing the Fifth Symphony," wrote the composer, and the players achieved this sense of grandeur. There was no mistaking the warmth with which they welcomed Rattle back. As for the audience, it really was in heaven.