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 time since 1920. It will be available digitally worldwide from 7 November and released physically as a special edition in Japan and Korea to coincide with the orchestra’s first tour of Asia with Mäkelä.
The performances were captured live during the Mahler Festival in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw in May 2025. Two concerts, one on Friday evening and one on Sunday afternoon, 18 May (the anniversary of Mahler’s death, in the presence of his granddaughter Marina Mahler), gave rise to this special release. Mäkelä recalls: “Conducting Mahler’s Eighth was one of the great moments of my life, which I will remember forever. I feel those two performances really carried a very special momentum for everyone involved. I certainly felt it on stage and hopefully it was also felt in the audience.”
The monumental forces included five choirs, among them the Chœur de l’Orchestre de Paris, Netherlands Radio Choir, Laurens Symfonisch, Nationaal Kinderkoor and Nationaal Jongenskoor, as well as eight international soloists. Mäkelä reflects: “Mahler used all theseinstruments, all these incredible voices, all the counterpoint and the scale of the orchestration simply because he needed all the colours, not because he needed more power. Quite the opposite. During the rehearsals we worked hard on the transparency, something that this hall is so perfect for, it has such personality. Every note that comes from the stage, the hall gives it a colour.”
The reception in Amsterdam was remarkable. Bachtrack called it “a monumental Eighth from Klaus Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra”, praising the clarity of the Veni creator spiritus. Trouw admired how he led the combined forces “with fantastic choirs from Hilversum, Paris, Rotterdam, and with the intrepid National Children’s and Boys’ Choir”. For the young singers themselves the experience was unforgettable: “Grandiose!” “Absolutely fantastic!” “Unforgettable!” are the words that still resonate with members of the National Children’s Choir and Boys’ Choir.
Mahler’s Eighth, premiered in1910, was the last new work he would hear in his lifetime and one of his greatest triumphs. Mäkelä observes: “Each of Mahler’s symphonies is a way for him to process major concerns in his life at that time. In the Eighth, he offers us a glimpse into his spiritual life and religious beliefs. But it is also his true confession of love for Alma, containing some of the most beautiful music he ever wrote. It’s a peek into Mahler’s inner turmoil about his very complex emotions for Alma. Yes, it’s an extremely grand gesture, but it’s also very intimate. I could never conduct this work without knowing the other symphonies, and I really cherished the opportunity to conduct it in the context of the cycle, particularly the Seventh, from which I feel the Eighth is a logical next step.”
The Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam is globally celebrated for its Mahler interpretations, a tradition that began in 1903 when Mahler himself came to Amsterdam to conduct his own work, notably the monumental Symphony No. 3 for orchestra, women’s choir, children’s choir, and mezzo-soprano. This initial visit marked the beginning of a deep collaboration between Mahler and the Concertgebouw Orchestra and a unique, enduring tradition. This was largely the achievement of Willem Mengelberg, the orchestra’s second chief conductor from 1895. Mengelberg, even in his youth, had a sharp nose for interesting contemporary composers. With tireless missionary zeal, he championed Mahler’s works – initially unknown and not very popular – to the Amsterdam public, and he succeeded. Subsequent chief conductors, including Eduard van Beinum, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, and Mariss Jansons, have each added inspiring new chapters to this legacy. Future chief conductor Klaus Mäkelä is ready to seamlessly adopt the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s rich Mahler tradition.
Klaus Mäkelä has served as Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic since 2020 and Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris since September 2021. In 2027 he will become Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Zell Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As an exclusive Decca Classics artist, he has recorded three albums with the Orchestre de Paris including Ballet Russes scores by Stravinsky and Debussy, as well as Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Ravel’s La Valse. 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.
