Here was something truly special: a conductor who revelled in freshly imagining each sound.

The Times
Official Biography

Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä has held the position of chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic since 2020 and music director of the Orchestre de Paris since September 2021. He assumes the title of chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in September 2027 and, in the same season, begins his tenure as Zell Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. An exclusive Decca Classics artist, he has recorded two albums featuring Ballets Russes scores by Stravinsky and Debussy with Orchestre de Paris. With the Oslo Philharmonic, he has recorded the complete Sibelius Symphonies, Sibelius’ and Prokofiev’s first Violin Concerto with Janine Jansen and Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 and 6.

Shostakovich continues as the composer spotlight in Mäkelä’s fifth season with the Oslo Philharmonic, which opened with performances of Symphony No. 5 at the Salzburg and Berlin Music Festivals. This season he also conducts Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 1, 11 and 15 at home in Oslo, whilst additional program highlights include Andrew Norman’s Play, Anders Hillborg’s new piano concerto MAX with soloist Emanuel Ax, and Sibelius’ Lemminkäinen Suite.

With a focus on French composers and new works, Mäkelä’s fourth season with the Orchestre de Paris pays tribute to the anniversaries of both Ravel and Boulez and features music by Berlioz, Fauré, Debussy, Poulenc and Messiaen. The season also includes premieres of new commissions: Thierry Escaich’s Lux Aeterna and Charlotte Bray’s A Sky Too Small. In addition to celebrating the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Philharmonie de Paris, the orchestra tours extensively throughout Europe and returns to Asia in June.

Guest conducting engagements in the 2024/25 Season include performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra and Berliner Philharmoniker. Mäkelä recently made his first appearance with the Vienna Philharmonic in Vienna and on tour. This season he is also a Focus Artist at the Vienna Musikverein and Portrait Artist at the Essen Philharmonie and Brussels Bozar.

As a cellist, Mäkelä partners with members of the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and Concertgebouw Orchestra for occasional programs, and each summer he performs at the Verbier Festival.

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Upcoming Performances

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Seoul Arts Centre

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul Arts Centre

Orchestre de Paris on tour – Seoul

Pierre Boulez: Initiale pour septuor de cuivres
Sergei Rachmaninov: Concerto for Piano No. 4
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Soloist: Yunchan Lim

INFO
Seoul Arts Centre

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul Arts Centre

Orchestre de Paris on tour – Seoul

Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
Sergei Rachmaninov: Concerto for Piano No. 4
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Soloist: Yunchan Lim

INFO
LG Arts Centre Seoul

Seoul, South Korea

LG Arts Centre

Orchestre de Paris on tour – Seoul

Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
Sergei Rachmaninov: Concerto for Piano No. 4
Modest Mussorgsky arr. Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition

Soloist: Yunchan Lim

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DECCA CLASSICS ANNOUNCES JUNE RELEASE: BERLIOZ & RAVEL WITH ORCHESTRE DE PARIS

Klaus Mäkelä’s forthcoming album with the Orchestre de Paris will be released on Friday, June 6, 2025 on Decca Classics. This is the third album in Mäkelä’s series with the orchestra and features two famous French works: Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Ravel’s La Valse. The centerpiece of the album is Symphonie {…}

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DECCA CLASSICS ANNOUNCES AUGUST RELEASE: SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONIES NOS. 4, 5 & 6 WITH THE OSLO PHILHARMONIC

Following their highly acclaimed cycle of the complete Sibelius symphonies, Decca Classics is thrilled to announce the release of Shostakovich Symphonies 4, 5, & 6 with Klaus Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic on 14 August 2024. To celebrate the release, the Oslo Philharmonic and Klaus Mäkelä launch their 5th season with a special {…}

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Concertgebouw Orchestra – Mahler Festival

"Friday night's performance of Mahler's colossal Eighth Symphony can already be credited in the annals as one of the absolute highlights of the Mahler Festival 2025. Klaus Mäkelä led nearly four hundred musicians and singers through the two movements of a symphony that was already labeled Symphonie der Tausend at its premiere (Munich, 1910). And although Mahler himself did not like {…}
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Concertgebouw Orchestra -Mahler Festival

"In Amsterdam, everything reminds us of Mahler … But the soul of the festival is, of course, the Concertgebouw itself. Mahler found there not only a warm audience and an orchestra whose violins he found ‘as beautiful as in Vienna’, but also acoustics he considered ideal. That is why listening to his works today, in this magical hall and in a continuous series, is so {…}

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

"From the eight horns’ majestic fanfare that opens the 100-minute journey (Mahler Symphony No. 3), this was a boldly projected and full-voiced performance, very much a young man’s Mahler. Yet under Mäkelä’s attentive direction, the long movement unfolded as a single whole without ever losing concentration or intensity. Every timbre and dynamic shift came across, from the {…}

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