Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra returned to the Philharmonie in Paris, performing Richard Strauss's Vier letzte Lieder with soprano Golda Schultz, followed by a performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8. This marked the orchestra's return to France after nearly a decade, with their last Paris concert scheduled for March 22, 2020—just days before the first lockdown related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The orchestra had previously performed in Paris in 2017 with Mahler's Symphony No. 6 and in 2015 with Mahler's Symphony No. 3. The concert took place in the Philharmonie de Paris's Grande Salle Pierre Boulez, named after the late conductor Pierre Boulez, who died in January 2016. The Cleveland Orchestra's string section was noted for its distinctive sound, combining lyrical expression with clarity. Golda Schultz's vocal performance was praised for its volume and placement, filling the large hall with her voice. However, her use of vibrato, especially in the song September, was seen as overly pronounced and somewhat limiting to the overall musical quality. The flute section was also criticized for sounding too sharp in the song Frühling, which detracted from the intended mood. In Beim Schlafengehen, the lower strings provided a strong foundation for the singer, though the solo violin did not match the brilliance of the Konzertmeister of the London Symphony Orchestra in a previous performance. In Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8, the performance was marked by a strict, military-like precision under Welser-Möst's baton. The Adagio began with nine cellos, played without tension or discomfort. However, the English horn solo struggled to reach the necessary volume, and the flutes and piccolos were described as overly sharp, failing to evoke the intended sense of unease in the score. The Allegretto was performed with a very precise rhythm, described as more fitting for a cold, formal execution than for the image of soldiers facing rifle volleys. The Allegro non troppo was criticized for sounding too mechanical, despite a perfectly executed cadence and a powerful alto passage. The Largo was noted as a wise, slow movement, allowing the violins and solo horn to shine. The Finale was seen as lacking the deeper emotional interpretation that is often essential to Shostakovich's more disturbed scores. The performance ended with an inappropriate encore of Träumerei by Schumann in one of its less well-known orchestral transcriptions.