Klaus Mäkelä, Julian Rachlin and the Concertgebouw Orchestra

Klaus Mäkelä, Julian Rachlin and the Concertgebouw Orchestra

From the first notes, the Fourth Symphony carries us away into Schumann’s utterly original world of dark romanticism. ‘Robert Schumann is the romantic composer’, says conductor Klaus Mäkelä. ‘His symphonies contain such wonderful moments. It always makes me feel good to play them. His music fills your heart with joy and sadness – the emotions are very pure and honest. Schumann makes me happy; he makes me a better person.’His romantic musical language notwithstanding, Schumann was a great admirer of the early music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The famous Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina also shows her indebtedness to the Baroque master, as in her much-praised Offertorium.The concert opens with a newly commissioned work by the successful Korean Seung-Won Oh. The final piece of her Spiri trilogy, Spiri III ‘seeks to transform the transient nature of human affection, and expand and enhance it to the next level’, the composer says. ‘Rather than limiting the view of the flower blooming and withering to a local event, we can contextualize this minute event as the beginning of a perpetual cycle that can't be measured or truly experienced by humans.’

Klaus Mäkelä, Julian Rachlin and the Concertgebouw Orchestra

From the first notes, the Fourth Symphony carries us away into Schumann’s utterly original world of dark romanticism. ‘Robert Schumann is the romantic composer’, says conductor Klaus Mäkelä. ‘His symphonies contain such wonderful moments. It always makes me feel good to play them. His music fills your heart with joy and sadness – the emotions are very pure and honest. Schumann makes me happy; he makes me a better person.’His romantic musical language notwithstanding, Schumann was a great admirer of the early music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The famous Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina also shows her indebtedness to the Baroque master, as in her much-praised Offertorium.The concert opens with a newly commissioned work by the successful Korean Seung-Won Oh. The final piece of her Spiri trilogy, Spiri III ‘seeks to transform the transient nature of human affection, and expand and enhance it to the next level’, the composer says. ‘Rather than limiting the view of the flower blooming and withering to a local event, we can contextualize this minute event as the beginning of a perpetual cycle that can't be measured or truly experienced by humans.’

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Julian Rachlin / Klaus Mäkelä

Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä doesn’t take up his post as chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra until 2027, but he is already working closely with the orchestra. At this concert, they perform Robert Schumann’s Fourth Symphony and Sofia Gubaidulina’s First Violin Concerto. The concert opens with a new piece by South Korean composer Seung Won-Oh. In 2023 Gubaidulina (*1931) was named the most frequently performed composer in the world by the online magazine Bachtrack. She experienced her international breakthrough in the 1980s with her Violin Concerto No. 1 »Offertorium«, in which she echoes Johann Sebastian Bach’s »Musical Offering«, her choice of title already pointing to a deep religious sense. Once premiered by master violinist Gidon Kremer, the renowned Austrian violinist Julian Rachlin has now been recruited for the solo part. Schumann’s Fourth Symphony was a birthday present for his beloved Clara and an affair of the heart for the composer. The recipient, herself a pianist and composer, was deeply moved by the symphony: »This is another work produced from the depths of the soul«.

Julian Rachlin : Chamber orchestra

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Klaus Mäkelä

There are few orchestras that can boast as long a Mahler tradition as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Amsterdam. Even during Gustav Mahler’s lifetime, the orchestra regularly performed his symphonies and helped the composer achieve the fame he enjoys to this day. Klaus Mäkelä, who takes over as the orchestra’s chief conductor in 2027, continues this tradition with a performance of Mahler’s First Symphony. The composer wrote about his work: »It has become so overpowering – it flowed out of me like a mountain stream!« Also on the programme is Arnold Schönberg’s early work »Verklärte Nacht« for string orchestra, based on Richard Dehmel’s poem of the same name. Before Schönberg climbed to the top of the avant-garde and shocked the music world with his twelve-tone music, he wrote deeply Romantic pieces in his younger years, in which he endeavoured to unite the styles of Wagner and Brahms.

Klaus Mäkelä and Janine Jansen with the Concertgebouw Orchestra

Conductor Klaus Mäkelä says that a concert is like a journey through time. The composers featured on this programme were clearly inspired by older music. Robert Schumann had just suffered a nervous breakdown when he wrote his Second Symphony, a work in which he documents his recovery and overtly draws on the music of Bach, Haydn and Beethoven.Benjamin Britten’s music, in which the influence of older English masters is always palpable, is also in dialogue with the past. His Violin Concerto juxtaposes tradition with present-day circumstances: the year was 1939, and the threat of war imminent. With her extraordinary aptitude for capturing mood and atmosphere, violinist Janine Jansen is the perfect interpreter.Klaus Mäkelä says, ‘In Schumann’s music I always feel an aspect of the past, tradition, history. Britten too admired tradition. We make a combination with works from the 17th century by Purcell and Dowland, to prepare the atmosphere of the later works by Britten and Schumann, which contain the past. I think the music benefits from it. The cathedral-like, almost sacred atmosphere of Dowland and Purcell enhances those aspects in Schumann and Britten, putting their works in a different light.’

Klaus Mäkelä and Janine Jansen with the Concertgebouw Orchestra

Conductor Klaus Mäkelä says that a concert is like a journey through time. The composers featured on this programme were clearly inspired by older music. Robert Schumann had just suffered a nervous breakdown when he wrote his Second Symphony, a work in which he documents his recovery and overtly draws on the music of Bach, Haydn and Beethoven.Benjamin Britten’s music, in which the influence of older English masters is always palpable, is also in dialogue with the past. His Violin Concerto juxtaposes tradition with present-day circumstances: the year was 1939, and the threat of war imminent. With her extraordinary aptitude for capturing mood and atmosphere, violinist Janine Jansen is the perfect interpreter.Klaus Mäkelä says, ‘In Schumann’s music I always feel an aspect of the past, tradition, history. Britten too admired tradition. We make a combination with works from the 17th century by Purcell and Dowland, to prepare the atmosphere of the later works by Britten and Schumann, which contain the past. I think the music benefits from it. The cathedral-like, almost sacred atmosphere of Dowland and Purcell enhances those aspects in Schumann and Britten, putting their works in a different light.’

Julian Rachlin Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra

The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (JSO), based in Jerusalem, Israel, has a rich history and has played a crucial role in Israel's cultural development. Distinguished conductors, composers, and soloists, including Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, and Arthur Rubinstein, have collaborated with the JSO. The orchestra regularly tours Europe and the United States, performing in prestigious venues. Beyond classical concerts, the JSO strives to create a comprehensive "Sound of Jerusalem," acting as a cultural ambassador. In 2023, Lithuanian conductor and violinist Julian Rachlin became the JSO's new Chief Conductor.

Klaus Mäkelä conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Mahler

When Gustav Mahler came to Amsterdam to conduct the Dutch premiere of his First Symphony in 1903, a close collaboration started – so began the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s much-vaunted Mahler tradition. Klaus Mäkelä steps into that tradition with respect and self-confidence. He previously gave stunning interpretations of the Sixth and the Third, now it is time for the First, which he calls Mahler's 'pastoral’ symphony: ‘I’ve always been attracted to its imaginative beauty, and its freshness. The expression is extremely clear, and it contains all the elements of his later work.’Klaus Mäkelä opens the concert with Verklärte Nacht by Mahler's contemporary Arnold Schoenberg, who was born 150 years ago in Vienna. The late-romantic work is based on a poem by Richard Dehmel about a woman who confesses to her loved one that she is carrying someone else’s child. The music closely follows the conversation and draws the listener into an intimate emotional journey leading from fear and guilt to pure happiness.

Klaus Mäkelä conducts Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev with the Concertgebouw Orchestra

Since her first appearance in 2001, the violinist Lisa Batiashvili has always given performances to look forward to. She now returns to perform as soloist in Prokofiev’s delightfully melodious Second Violin Concerto. Klaus Mäkelä has paired it with Rachmaninoff’s irresistible Second Symphony, a work with which the composer avenged the failure of his First. And how! The melancholy theme of the third movement has brought tears to the eyes of many since the 1908 premiere, and will always continue to do so.Also on the programme is a surprise: a newly commissioned work, Body Cosmic, by the American composer Ellen Reid to mark her residency at the Concertgebouw and with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in the 2023-2024 season. Audiences have come to know her as a musical jack-of-all-trades, who moves effortlessly across a wide range of disparate styles and genres – from classical to avant-garde pop and electronic soundscapes. This should be interesting!