Orchestre de Paris
“… Mäkelä impresses above all by his uncompromising musicality. He melts into the moment with the piece he is conducting, without the rapture coming at the expense of analytical perfectionism. Mäkelä is also versatile. In Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3, he ensured a tight interaction with pianist Kirill Gerstein … In Bruckner you saw his energy change instantly; from high to low breath, from precision to breadth and (carefully constructed) ecstasy.”
NRC Handelsblad, Mischa Spel
“… The fact that in his Ninth (Symphony) Bruckner went harmonically further than his contemporaries, and in the catastrophic climax of the Adagio even broke the boundaries of tonality, Mäkelä and his orchestra were able to convincingly unfold: Wonderfully melting passages of brass in their “farewell pain”-filled chorale scenes, lush string singing in the melodious main theme, ever-changing sound mixtures of consoling woodwinds, monumentality and expressive power in eruptive outcry of resignation. A clear-eyed Ninth, well balanced, consistent right into the redemptive, movingly weightless final bars of the Adagio!”
Bachtrack.com, Michael Vleth
Programme:
Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3 – soloist Kirill Gerstein
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
