“CLEVELAND, Ohio – So bright is the music this week at Severance Music Center, one might be advised to wear shades. Don’t look at the lighting technician, however. Look at the Cleveland Orchestra and conductor Alan Gilbert, who together turn in four resplendent performances, each more brilliant in its way than the last.
If the orchestra had prepared an encore, Gilbert, too, would have had cause to play it. Such was the reception for the performance of Debussy’s “La Mer.” Here, too, Gilbert and the orchestra avoided all possible hazards, navigating Debussy’s musical portrait of the sea with bold assurance and evocative grace.
Shades would have been nice in “From Dawn To Noon,” in which one could almost see the glinting light, but no less responsive or diaphanous was the artistry in “Play of the Waves.” And yet it was “Dialogue of the Wind and Sea” that boasted the strongest rip current. Out of a rush of frenetic music, Gilbert crafted a dramatic scene with irresistible direction and momentum”. (Zachary Lewis)