Micah Gleason / Léirmheasanna

If anyone could convert me to the church of Strauss, it’s the excellent Curtis orchestra fronted by conducting fellow Micah Gleason. In Gleason’s hands, the dance sounds slightly drunk—an appropriate mode for this uncharacteristically slinky piece from Strauss. Gleason honors the fluidity of the score, keeping the rhythm loose and seductive. It’s for this reason that the frenzied finale absolutely punches us in the face. Gleason up to this point has been teasing, stirring the orchestra with a subtle, gentle hand. When the finale arrives, Gleason digs in, and her joy and exuberance come through both in the music and in her physical performance. It’s no wonder her mentor is the famously joyful and exuberant Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

If anyone could convert me to the church of Strauss, it’s the excellent Curtis orchestra fronted by conducting fellow Micah Gleason. In Gleason’s hands, the dance sounds slightly drunk—an appropriate mode for this uncharacteristically slinky piece from Strauss. Gleason honors the fluidity of the score, keeping the rhythm loose and seductive. It’s for this reason that the frenzied finale absolutely punches us in the face. Gleason up to this point has been teasing, stirring the orchestra with a subtle, gentle hand. When the finale arrives, Gleason digs in, and her joy and exuberance come through both in the music and in her physical performance. It’s no wonder her mentor is the famously joyful and exuberant Yannick Nézet-Séguin.