In the decades after the premiere "La mer" established itself in the core orchestral repertoire. In 2018 the online archive of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra reported that the orchestra had played the work at 135 concert performances since 1917, under conductors including Willem Mengelberg, Arturo Toscanini, John Barbirolli, Pierre Monteux, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez and Valery Gergiev. In 1979 "The Musical Times" rated "La mer" the composer's most important orchestral work. The pianist Sviatoslav Richter called "La mer" "A piece that I rank alongside the "St Matthew Passion" and the "Ring" cycle as one of my favourite works".