The Cleveland Orchestra was in prime form for the final season program of the ensemble’s Miami residency Friday night at the Arsht Center. With music director Franz Welser-Möst on the podium, the Italian-themed program featured one of the masterpieces of the symphonic repertoire, a glittering orchestral showpiece and some balletic potboilers.

Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A Major (“Italian”) opened the evening. Welser-Möst offered sunny Mendelssohn with a strong rhythmic impetus running throughout the symphony’s four movements. In the opening Allegro vivace, the ensemble’s plush string sonority and Joshua Smith’s pure-toned flute provided rich orchestral colors. Winds and strings were well balanced and Welser-Möst finely detailed instrumental lines without loss of momentum.