By Joe Brown (contact)

Mon, Nov 17, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Once upon a time, and not so very long ago or far away, there was a boy who grew up listening to “Scheherazade” in his family’s living room. And one day — Saturday night, in fact — he found himself all grown up, leading the Las Vegas Philharmonic through that very music.

“Children instinctively love ‘Scheherazade,’ ” said conductor David Itkin, introducing the work to the near-capacity audience at Artemus Ham Hall. “It reminds me of what music is ... supposed to be for. I am the first person to enjoy a piece of music that proposes an intellectual premise, but sometimes it’s just supposed to be fun.”

And with that Itkin waved his wand, and unfurled Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s four-part suite, transforming it from a kind of corny orchestral warhorse into a fresh and vital sonic adventure, a showcase for the infinite variety of sounds and textures his 70-plus musicians are capable of producing.

The music takes off from the legendary story anthology “One Thousand and One Nights,” and concertmaster DeAnn Letourneau took the part of Scheherazade, enchantingly spinning and spiraling out tales of adventure and romance on her violin as if her life depended on it.

In his pre-concert notes, Itkin told the audience he grew up thinking “Scheherazade” was “one of the most famous pieces in musical history.” Later, he said, he mentioned it to a colleague, who sniffed, “Ugh. Nobody plays that anymore.” “What are you talking about?” Itkin said. “It’s played every week at our house.” Always boyish, the conductor seemed to take special delight in exploring this music’s exotic atmospheres. You could see him in mind’s eye, “conducting” his parent’s record player again.

Saturday’s program sounded sort of random on the page, but Itkin had put together a sequence of three adventure stories, a sort of musical travelogue, opening with Felix Mendelssohn’s relatively brief The Hebrides, op. 26 (Fingal’s Cave), which evoked a suddenly stormy journey to a peaceful, ancient place — in this case, a Scottish island — with wavelike swells and golden, glassy calms.

Guest soloist Eugene Rousseau, standing beside Itkin in front of the orchestra, led the way through Henri Tomasi’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone, another complex and somewhat melodramatic journey, with pulse-raising shades of monster movie soundtrack and biblical epic. The score treks through all sorts of musical terrain, sending Rousseau’s classical saxophone on a thrilling sequence of vertiginous ascents and sinuous descents.

A tall gentleman, Rousseau gazed out at the audience as he played his gleaming golden horn, occasionally bending at the knees to get a better look at his sheet music. It was a rare treat to hear the instrument used out of a jazz context.

The Philharmonic’s playing seems to have strengthened and grown even since last month’s back-to-back programs of jazz-flavored pops and Israeli music. And though the strings and basses have been strong all season, Saturday was a standout night for horns and winds. Itkin singled out several musicians for particular praise, including clarinetist Jonathon Troy, bassoonist Janis McKay, and percussionists Patrick Bowen, Robert Bonora, Joni DeClerq, Alex Stopa and Rachel Julian, who colored “Scheherazade” with cymbals, snare, triangle and tambourine.

“Most orchestras in the U.S.,” Itkin said, greeting the audience before commencing the concert, “are playing for half-empty houses, and we’re very grateful to see you all here tonight.” Up next, a pops concert on Dec. 13 dedicated to Christmas chestnuts.