Chicago, USA
Symphony Center
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Jean Sibelius: Lemminkäinen
Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
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.
Ann Arbor, USA
Hill Auditorium
Chicago Symphony Orchestra on tour – Ann Arbour
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
New York, USA
Carnegie Hall
Chicago Symphony Orchestra on tour – New York
Jean Sibelius: Lemminkäinen
Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
DECCA RELEASES MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 8 WITH THE ROYAL CONCERTGEBOUW ORCHESTRA – LIVE FROM THE 2025 MAHLER FESTIVAL
Decca Classics announces Klaus Mäkelä’s recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, the “Symphony of a Thousand” with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Mäkelä is the Orchestra’s Conductor Designate, and the album was recorded live earlier this year at the Mahler Festival, a major international event that took place for only the third {…}
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 {…}
Concertgebouw Orchestra on tour
“But how was the performance in the Great Hall of the Elbphilharmonie with the Concertgebouw Orchestra? To spoil it: an absolute triumph with standing ovations and cheering at the first bow. Under Mäkelä, the Dutch top orchestra proved that it still belongs to the world's top, that Bruckner is still known like the back of his own hand, and that they had come up with a lot for this {…}
Orchestre de Paris
"In just under 80 exhilarating minutes, Klaus Mäkelä led Beethoven’s Missa solemnis at the Philharmonie with the Orchestre de Paris and Chœur de l’Orchestre de Paris, revealing once again why the work remains the most formidable of choral–orchestral undertakings: spiritually uncompromising, structurally unwieldy, and stubbornly resistant to anything resembling {…}
Oslo Philharmonic on tour
“Not every classical listener will be delighted with Shostakovich's eighth ... All the more impressive how the musicians built up the tension under Mäkelä – and kept it! The Great Hall, perfect for this music, seemed to shine over the massive Tuttis in the hellishly glorious apocalypse of the third movement."Die Presse, 24 January 2026, Jens F. {…}
