Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Julian Rachlin / Klaus Mäkelä

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, 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.’

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 Royal Concert­gebouw Orches­tra Mahler 1. Sinfonie

28-year-old Klaus Mäkelä will become the new chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam in 2027. The orchestra expressed unanimous excitement about the appointment. Mäkelä, known for his interpretations of Mahler, will conduct Mahler's Symphony No. 1, along with Schoenberg's "Verklärte Nacht", at the Philharmonie Essen. A post-concert talk and performance featuring Mäkelä and orchestra members will follow.

Klaus Mäkelä & Concertgebouw Orchestra: Ravel, Bartók & Connesson

Klaus Mäkelä invites listeners to use their ears and eyes. Maurice Ravel, a master of ‘visual’ composition, could depict exotic settings and fairy-tale atmospheres with razor-sharp precision. In the rarely performed orchestral miniature Shéhérazade, we are transported to the world of The Thousand and One Nights. Ravel’s compatriot Guillaume Connesson is a contemporary sound wizard. His works sound almost cinematic, not least because of their highly refined orchestration. In addition to his recent oboe concerto, entitled Les belles heures, with Ivan Podyomov as soloist, the programme features the brand-new flute concerto he composed especially for the Concertgebouw Orchestra and its principal flautist Emily Beynon. It’s the perfect opportunity to discover for yourself why Connesson’s exciting music appeals to such a wide audience.The programme contrasts French sophistication with Hungarian horror by Béla Bartók. In The Miraculous Mandarin, Bartók managed to express in music the more primitive side of modern civilisation. This grim fairy tale sounds just as exciting – and alarming – as it did 100 years ago.

Klaus Mäkelä & Concertgebouw Orchestra: Ravel, Bartók & Connesson

Klaus Mäkelä invites listeners to use their ears and eyes. Maurice Ravel, a master of ‘visual’ composition, could depict exotic settings and fairy-tale atmospheres with razor-sharp precision. In the rarely performed orchestral miniature Shéhérazade, we are transported to the world of The Thousand and One Nights. Ravel’s compatriot Guillaume Connesson is a contemporary sound wizard. His works sound almost cinematic, not least because of their highly refined orchestration. In addition to his recent oboe concerto, entitled Les belles heures, with Ivan Podyomov as soloist, the programme features the brand-new flute concerto he composed especially for the Concertgebouw Orchestra and its principal flautist Emily Beynon. It’s the perfect opportunity to discover for yourself why Connesson’s exciting music appeals to such a wide audience.The programme contrasts French sophistication with Hungarian horror by Béla Bartók. In The Miraculous Mandarin, Bartók managed to express in music the more primitive side of modern civilisation. This grim fairy tale sounds just as exciting – and alarming – as it did 100 years ago.

Julian Rachlin : Chamber orchestra

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.