By David Gordon Duke

The Vancouver Sun

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra began 2012 in fine fettle Saturday with guest conductor Rossen Milanov and violin soloist Corey Cerovsek in a concert of Debussy, Korngold, and Berlioz at the Orpheum Theatre. In lieu of an overture, Milanov - who hails from Bulgaria, but now conducts the Princeton Symphony Orchestra - began with a suave and fluid performance of Debussy's Prelude l'apres midi d'un faune.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Violin Concerto has had a checkered past. After its premiere by Jascha Heifetz in the late 1940s, it plummeted out of fashion. Recent re-evaluations are restoring it to favour, helped in no small manner by the Grammy-winning VSO recording with James Ehnes. And for good reason: it's an abundantly tuneful, well-constructed, and brilliantly conceived romp for both soloist and orchestra.

The Vancouver audience has a long and affectionate history with Cerovsek, who spent his childhood here. As it turned out, the Korngold is a remarkably fine fit for a remarkable violinist.

Cerovsek's agility and luscious tone are perfect for the sweeping, evocative content of the work, and his sense of wit and playful swagger keep his performance on track, purposeful, and, above all, tasteful. Conductor Milanov proved a fine accompanist, bringing out the score's mercurial colours and allowing the soloist time to breathe and to create every shade of meaning he wanted. This was a partnership that produced a reading full of life and insight.

Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique may suffer from overexposure (certainly when one considers the wealth of other Berlioz works that seem hard to program), but Saturday's was a performance to savour. Berlioz's imagination and theatricality usually come across in all but the most careless performances; Milanov is a conductor who understands how Berlioz's ear for original and sometimes quirky detail is at the heart of his grand vision. Conductor and ensemble kept the narrative thread clear, making the score's myriad nuances even clearer.

Though Milanov is new to the orchestra, his rapport with the players was immediately apparent as they delivered a fiery, rewarding performance of one of the orchestral repertoire's great and most original masterworks -the conclusion of an evening of very fine work indeed.

The program repeats tonight at 8 p.m.