Reviews  |  

New York Philharmonic

“It’s taken a few months, but the New York Philharmonic finally sounds at home in its new home. That became clear earlier this month, as soon as the ridiculously young Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä gave an almost invisible nod and started a tensely ravishing performance of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, the Pathetique. The bassoon climbed slowly out of a bog of trembling cellos and, for the next three-quarters of an hour, brass chords glowed, Anthony McGill’s clarinet solos floated exquisitely, raucous climaxes exploded without bursting eardrums, and strings sounded warm and clear and plush. Silences were not the ragged dropouts they can be, but riveting instants of stopped time and held breath.”

Vulture, Jason Davidson, 16 December 2022


“The third movement of the Tchaikovsky, a perennial audience favorite, especially benefited from Mäkelä’s lucid reading, whose transparency brought equal attention to the itinerant melodic line and the dense orchestrations surrounding it.“

New York Times, Joshua Barone, 12 December 2022


“ … Makela’s Tchaikovsky, while not profound, proved terrific. This fellow must have been born with a baton in his crib. His style of leadership is both commanding and spontaneous. His imprint is personal. I concede that his Pathetique is (alas) more about drama than about pain; but the drama – its nuanced ferocity – carried the day.  He has the confidence and authority to listen and respond in the moment to the musicians, both individually and collectively; to the vicissitudes of musical argument and expression.“

Arts Journal, Joe Horowitz, 9 December 2022


Programme:
Jimmy López: Perú negro
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6
Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, Pathétique