This is how you would like to open a classical music festival: one of the great traditional orchestras is a guest in a packed philharmonic hall, and at the top is a young conductor who is causing a sensation around the world. After a period of uncertainty, the Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam has regained confidence in its own future. And her name is Klaus Mäkelä. The musicians bind the only 26-year-old Finn to them for the next ten years. They mark the beginning of their common path without any hesitation with an extremely challenging work: Mahler has always been in the DNA of the Amsterdamers, bosses like Haitink, Chailly and Jansons have interpreted it, and the 6th symphony is an abyss of despair. Enough reasons to be careful here, actually.
But there is not a trace of hesitation in the appearance of the orchestra and conductor: Klaus Mäkelä radiates an unpretentious authority that one does not often encounter even with older podium stars. Mastering the mighty score doesn’t cost him any effort, but above all it doesn’t distract him from keeping in touch with his musicians. Mäkelä’s attention is everywhere, his sound ideas are clear and precise, but at the same time he seems immune to slipping into the role of teacher or controller. What Kirill Petrenko always finds difficult, the colleague, who is only half his age, masters: letting go, giving away trust, just letting the orchestra play.
The result is brilliant: the noble sound of the Concertgebouworkest gains in immediacy, the responsiveness increases, the wealth of details is astounding. The collapsing worlds in the final movement do not clump into a dull feeling, everything remains visible, comprehensible, stringent. Beforehand, Mäkelä proved that he can draw delicate mood pictures with Kaija Saariaho’s starry music “Orion”. In contrast to the new Amsterdam chief conductor, the Musikfest Berlin is a classic late bloomer: After the acclaimed start, there are still plenty of tickets for the next three weeks. Also for the guest performance of the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra on September 6th. can come together again in full strength for the first time since the beginning of the war.
