Concertgebouworkest

“Mäkelä’s Mahler is out of this world … He opened the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s subscription season on Thursday with a masterful interpretation of Mahler’s Third Symphony. I realize you have to be careful with words like ‘masterful’, but it was the only word that came to mind while listening to this exhilarating performance  …  all led in fantastic directions by Mäkelä, who exhibited an infinite ear for detail, and allowed the long lines of that unearthly beautiful final movement to emerge and flow almost naturally. It looked easy, it flowed almost naturally. As if he had never done anything else. Masterful, in other words.”

Trouw, Peter van der Lindt, 16 September 2023

“Throughout the evening, the Finnish conductor managed to balance the tension, speed and colours in a meaningful way …  Throughout all six movements he showed an iron control, using emphasis and contrasts sparingly so that all his choices really meant something. The radiant call of the horns at the beginning promised an RCO in top form, with the brass section playing the leading role – a promise that was fulfilled without fail.”

De Volkskrant, Jenny Camilleri, 17 September 2023

This was Mäkelä and the RCO at their best, finding long lines, the phrasing, the nuance and that special something in a score laden with Mahler’s detailed instructions while the music became ever more urgent. 

Bachtrack.com, Clare Varney, 16 September 2023


Programme:
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 3
Laurens Symphony Chorus
National Children’s Choir
Soloist: Jennifer Johnston