Mark Satola cleveland.com
“(…) His performances of the Poulenc concerto and Rachmaninoff’s second symphony Thursday night are a good indication of why his Brussels and Philly appointments were recently extended.

(…) Deneve managed balances perfectly, keeping the 100 or so players reined in where necessary but also allowing them the satisfaction of letting the fortissimo passages have their full strength.

(…) the work was given a solidly definitive performance of the score. Deneve was one hundred percent in the moment at every moment, guiding the players through the music’s mountainous climaxes and deep valleys of gloom, and maintaining the dramatic tension needed to corral the uncut version’s waywardness as it climbs to its triumphant pinnacle in its final bars.

(…) Cleveland audiences will have to wait another year before Deneve returns to Severance Hall. He’s back in 2019 to conduct Jennifer Higdon, James Macmillan and Scriabin. It would be nice if we could have him again sooner.”

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