There are season openers, and then there are season openers. And last night conductor Larry Rachleff picked one of the great ones to kick off season number 63 of the Rhode Island Philharmonic. After a rousing rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” and works by Strauss and Prokofiev, Rachleff and the orchestra dove into a driving account of the Beethoven Fifth, among the most well-known pieces in the symphonic literature and a resounding testament to the triumph of the human spirit.

It has been more than a dozen years since the Philharmonic last played Beethoven Five, so an airing was long overdue. Perhaps that’s why the players embraced the music with such energy and enthusiasm. For this was a headlong, joyous reading, with a first movement that kept the momentum up, taking just short gasps between the opening hammer blows, and a slow movement that never dallied.

But it was in the finale that the orchestra cut loose, playing at full throttle and then some. What was nice about the finale was the way Rachleff set it up, pulling way back to a hushed whisper at the end of the scherzo, then going for an explosive few bars of the last movement. The contrast was huge and very effective.

It has been several months since the Philharmonic played a serious concert together, since the season ended last May. But the orchestra sounded tight and sure-footed. The opening bars were crisp and the final chords clean as can be.

All the details were there, but there was the bigger picture, too. Rachleff made it clear that the Fifth is all about the struggle to overcome adversity, to arrive at a sense of hope amid the darkness of the opening movement.

Rachleff opened the evening with the swashbuckling Richard Strauss tone poem Don Juan, written when the composer was just 20 and very much interested in the exploits of the greatest lover of all time. It’s bold, daring music full of ardor and passion, and Rachleff managed to point all that up in the performance, with its blazing horns and Cheryl Bishkoff’s melting oboe solo.

Next up was the second Prokofiev violin concerto with Corey Cerovsek as the soloist. This is the second time the Canadian-born violinist has appeared with the orchestra in as many years, and he did not disappoint. Cerovsek brought a wonderfully lyrical touch to the concerto, especially in the gorgeous slow movement.

There is something old-schoolish and luxurious about his playing, a style that harks back to his teacher, Josef Gingold, who was at Indiana University for many years. His playing is all about the sound, a sweet mellow tone that was so evident in passages that were reminiscent of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet.

cgray@projo.com