There was a buzz of anticipation in a packed Queen Elizabeth Hall for the Philharmonia concert conducted by the 25-year-old Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel.

He has been hailed as a superstar in the making and has earned rapturous acclaim for recent appearances.

Much was impressive in this programme, beginning with a magical evocation of sunrise in Nielsen's Helios Overture.

In Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No3, Dudamel set some brisk tempi for Boris Berezovsky, none of which fazed the Russian virtuoso, who tosses off Rachmaninov's fearsome figuration as though it's a five-finger exercise.

His sound is big and beefy, sometimes oppressively so, though he's also capable of the most delicate filigree. More of a problem, however, is the prosaic nature of his phrasing which elicits little of the poetry concealed within that daunting passage-work.

Dudamel brought far more life and colour to his phrasing, and the Philharmonia played beautifully for him.

His reading emphasised the feverish, volatile aspects of the score, and the rousing ending played shamelessly to the gallery.

So, too, in a sense did Dudamel's account of Sibelius's Fifth Symphony, which teemed with lively detail, whipping up another storm for the coda of the first movement.

It was all a little excitable: pulsating with energy but lacking the grand epic vision of the legendary Sibelians.

• To be broadcast on Radio 3 on 2 March.