Klaus Mäkelä

The young Finn is currently principal conductor of the top orchestras in Oslo and Paris, and has been designated as such in Chicago and Amsterdam. Three of them can be experienced with him in the Elbphilharmonie this season – plus: the Vienna Philharmonic

Klaus Mäkelä
Klaus Mäkelä © Sophie Wolter

He is just 28 years old and already belongs in the premier league of international conducting stars: Klaus Mäkelä from Finland. He has been Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic since 2020; in 2022, he took up another top position as Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris. And now the Helsinki-born conductor is also the Chief Conductor Designate of two outstanding orchestras, at the top of which he will take up his post after the end of his tenures in Paris and Amsterdam: firstly, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Amsterdam, which is widely regarded as one of the best orchestras around with its silky sound. And secondly, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra recently appointed him as its leader from 2027.

In the 2024/25 season, the high-flyer now returns to the Hanseatic city with three of those orchestras for two concerts each and presents some key works of symphonic literature at these guest performances: from Ludwig van Beethoven’s most widely performed Piano Concerto No. 5 and Igor Stravinsky’s scandalous ballet »Le sacre du printemps« to Béla Bartók’s impressive Concerto for Orchestra. Mäkelä also conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony – a special spectacle for the ears, played by one of the world’s best orchestras.

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