Conductor Larry Rachleff took the night off Saturday for the Rhode Island Philharmonic’s monthly subscription concert at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. But not before passing the baton to resident conductor Francisco Noya.

This was a rare outing for Noya for a Saturday concert. Normally he leads the educational programs and the pops acts at the Providence Performing Arts Center. But there was no question he was up for the job Saturday. Noya came across as a conductor in charge, someone well prepared with a strong point of view, especially in a gorgeous rendition of Schumann’s joyous Rhenish Symphony.

The program, it turns out, was something of a mixed bag, with a little contemporary music, a choral offering and the purely orchestral Schumann. The new music came from Boston-area composer Osvaldo Golijov, a two-movement score entitled Last Round. The 12-minute score takes its name from a short story about boxing by Argentine author Julio Cortezar, but it’s really an homage to the late Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla.

The orchestra — at least some of the strings — performed standing up, like tango orchestras of old. And the upper strings, violins and violas were divided into two, to form dueling sections.

The piece did not have the kind of elegance and lilt you might expect for a work devoted to the tango. The opening movement was driving and robust, giving way to a lush heartfelt section that brought the piece to a quiet close.

Next up was the Choral Fantasy of Beethoven, with the Providence Singers taking on the vocal parts and Italian pianist Fabio Bidini doing the honors as piano soloist. The Fantasy was one of the works Beethoven showcased at a marathon fundraiser in 1808, but it has not been considered among his best efforts.

What distinguishes it is that it appears to be a sketch for the Ninth Symphony, an early study in how to combine orchestra with spoken word. But otherwise it’s a pretty patched together affair.

Bidini opened the work with a long rambling solo that sounded very much like an improvisation. Beethoven in fact did improvise the opening when he first played it. That is followed by the orchestra, and eventually the chorus, in a kind of martial theme reminiscent of the Ode to Joy tune of the Ninth, with the same towering ninth chords, no less.

While this is not great Beethoven by any stretch, the performance had a lot of heart. Bidini, a Van Cliburn competition winner, charged into the solo parts with lots of abandon. His tempos were free as though he were improvising, thinking it up on the spot. Noya brought a good deal of edge to the orchestral sections and the chorus gave a rousing account of itself for the finale.

But the high point of the night was the Schumann Third, where Noya seemed most comfortable and confident. The opening was full of warmth and joy, and the atmospheric slow movement was wonderful. A hand should go to the horn section for a solid contribution.

All in all, Noya and the orchestra did a splendid job.

cgray@projo.com