Klaus Mäkelä on Shostakovich's symphonies

[@EricGross]

It's not easy to make the coda of the Fifth Symphony of Shostakovich boring, but Makela somehow achieves this. This is all part of the growing trend which is the sad irrelevancy of classical music.

[@robertberger4203]

I don't think Makela would have been chosen to lead the Orchestre de Paris, the Oslo Phil, the Concertgebouw and the Chicago symphony unless he. were a huge talent . The musicians of these four orchestras would not agree with you .

[@waynesmith3767]

@@robertberger4203oh you sweet innocent child!

[@robertberger4203]

@@waynesmith3767 Ha Ha Ha Ha !!! Very funny / Please don't patronize me . I'm just trying to. defend Makela . Let's give him a chance !

[@waynesmith3767]

@@robertberger4203 you are innocent apparently those choices are made and he’s hardly the “ kid” that some call him, he’s twenty-eight years old-not exactly a child prodigy-he seems likable and affable and charming( especially for a Finn-I’m Finnish, those aren’t our strong suits!-and has had plenty of opportunity to grow and improve the recordings suggest he hasn’t. To me they suggest he won’t. as a Chicago resident I regret his appointment to the CSO. as for Symphony, musicians, of whom I’ve known many, the fine musicians at the CSO are not always the best judge of conductors. And they have personally hated some great conductors and some very good ones and they have personally like some mediocre or less ones I wish him well because he’s here and I hope he fills those seats and brings in cash. There is an idea floating around that young conductors outgoing personalities will attract young audiences. It doesn’t seem to be working and a better than hip programming attracts young audiences other than for maybe one concert. You accuse me of being patronizing and I accuse you of shouting down people who don’t agree with you about this handsome, charming man with a rabbity smile. His fans will continue to be his fans. The CSO will continue to be a good orchestra. Life will go on and eventually people will hear the name and wonder who he was and what the fuss was about.

[@OrganHunters]

Hah. Ouch.

[@mikesmovingimages]

At Makela's age, Karajan was still in Ulm!. Bernstein (who studied under Fritz Reiner!) famously first lead the NYP at age 25, but that audience and board were certainly not imagining putting him in charge of the whole shebang, let alone as only one job among man. Wiser heads ran orchestras in those days. Makela has done almost no opera, Mozart, Haydn, or Beethoven - the forms where the greatest conductors cut their teeth (a common shortcoming of the boy-wonders of the past forty years). Does anyone believe this guy can hold a cnadle to those giants, or many others, who spent FAR longer learning their craft? I despair for the art form if it can be mastered by age 25 like a pop genre. Let's face it: this guy is too young to have learned these 15 symphonies, even IF that were all he'd been up to since age 18. If this is the best available to Chicago, Amsterdam, Paris...then classical music deserves its fading relevance.

[@annekemiedema1764]

I really love the way you talk about music. So enthousiastic and so well prepared for every detail of it. And then when you perform with your orchestras you're able to bring to live in sound the way you talk about it. I'm curious how you will grow further as a conductor. Compliments on your achievements sofar! 👏👏

[@notanemoprog]

I would be very interested in hearing a response to Dave Hurwitz's very detailed and largely negative review of this release. Any willing Mäkelä champions out there?

[@IanKnight40]

Who the hell is Dave Hurwitz ?

[@notanemoprog]

@@IanKnight40

[@IanKnight40]

​​@@notanemoprogSeriously, how can an armchair you tuber be taken seriously. He only has a good word about his beloved Tam Tam. Give the poor kid a break.

[@notanemoprog]

@@IanKnight40Compared to you, even his _actual_ armchair is like Einstein. Now, are there any _actually_ learned & eloquent Mäkelä champions able to mount a defense of his Sho?

[@andreykonovalov2324]

​@notanemoprog No need to go that far, you could check the laudatory reviews on Gramaphone or Presto

[@hectorberlioz1449]

Until today he didn't make unfortunately one good and not to say one reference recording! His Sibelius cycle is very mediocre and why Decca issued it , if one has already Maazel/ VPO, Blomstedt/SFSO and Ashkenazy/ Philharmonia in their catalogue? Then a new cycle should be something special. In this case everything sounds so mediocre and uninteresting. This young guy is a case of much too young too soon and therefore very overrated. I heard live Mäkele with the RCO in 'pictures at an exhibition', it was the most boring performance I ever heard of this piece , the same concerns 'la Mer' , I 'm afraid the RCO made a big mistake....

[@robertberger4203]

I haven't. heard the Makela Sibelius cycle yet, but really want to to see if it's as bad as David Horror-witz. would have us believe . Hurwitz has trashed so many terrific recordings over the. years whether on his website or his. KZbin channel; . He can be extremely annoying .

[@waynesmith3767]

@@robertberger4203it’s not only not good, it’s bad; do we really need another Sibelius cycle? there are many good ones and a few great ones. If someone does a Sibelius cycle it should be outstanding; this one is but for the wrong reasons.

[@robertberger4203]

@@waynesmith3767 I'll withhold judgment on this Sibelius cycle until I hear it .

[@waynesmith3767]

@@robertberger4203 thanks; listen, compare and come back and let us know what you think.Fortunately there’s a wealth of good cycles to compare to his.

[@hectorberlioz1449]

@@robertberger4203 I agree completely concerning Hurwitz. He teared down to the bottom many good rec f.i. Haitink's VW cycle and his Walton first. Conductors he personally dislike he never mentions at all; Dutoit, Solti or Maazel. He is an amateur behaving like the guru of classical music ! Funny is that he is followed by a group of fanboys , who say yes & amen on everything he is telling haha.... Unfortunately in the case of Mäkele's Sibelius cycle I had to agree with Hurwitz.

[@paulpadillo4591]

It will be interesting to see what develops in Chicago. I think there's a lot of talent and potential with this kid and it will be fun to watch it play out. I've seen Dave Hurwitz name here several times and can't help but groan. Hurwitz is a joke, and not a particularly funny one. The man does possess a good deal of knowledge, but is exceedingly obtuse and so self-satisfingly smug with his own opinions. Anyone who dismisses Bach in the manner which he does is - in my estimation - not worth listening to much. Your mileage of course, may vary. The bottom line is: Mäkelä is still young, obviously talented, has interesting things to say musically and yes, not all of them are right or prove to be great - but that's true of virtually every conductor, even established ones revered as "gods." I find most arguments against Mäkelä tedious and narrow. Of course that's nothing new in the world of classical music.

[@koslak7335]

Hurwitz is clearly obsessed with Mäkelä. He likes Mäkelä so much that he has to live in this obsessive denialism. The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.

[@TheFergyme]

And I find that ANY orchestra that sells itself out by giving this guy overall leadership, just utterly inept at choosing the right guy. He doesn't deserve ANY of this adulation you're willing to give him, especially when he hasn't proven himself ANYWHERE. I honestly had never heard of him and who would since he's only 28 years old?

[@paulpadillo4591]

@@TheFergyme The adulation "I"m giving him?" The fact of your never having heard of him speaks volumes, because the rest of the world certainly has. Mäkelä's in his fourth season as Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris, in his fifth season as Principal Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, in 2027 becomes Music Director of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, with whom he's he's already established a strong rapport with after a number of appearances. He's had positive reviews conducting the Chicago Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, London Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Berlin Philharmonic, among other orchestras. Again, I emphasize the fact musicians from each of these prestigious orchestras have been both positive and enthusiastic about their experiences with him. I think that counts for plenty. Yeah, I do love most of what I've heard from him - save for the Sibelius - but I'm hardly alone in that. Obviously.

[@TheFergyme]

@@paulpadillo4591 On the contrary. I know who he is and what he's given to classical music--which isn't much really. He doesn't deserve any of those positions at just 28 years old.

[@mikesmovingimages]

@@paulpadillo4591 Anyone who has hung around orchestras knows musicians are, collectively, poor judges of music directors, as far as their interpretive chops are concerned. They will "like" or "dislike" conductors for a variety of reasons both musical and non-musical. The orchestra is not the audience.

[@stevesmith6714]

Well done bringing positie vibes in the world with music 🎶

[@JT-qr8lt]

Great interview - thanks so much for sharing! Wishing klaus every success in the future - he fully deserves it!

[@vittoriostoraro]

What's great about it? And why does he "deserve" success when he hasn't earned it or proven that he has the talent?

[@JT-qr8lt]

@@vittoriostoraro just remember where we were when we 28! Live & let live!!!

[@able763]

@@JT-qr8lt Please let live somewhere else

[@cwtabbs1]

​@@vittoriostoraroMore whining. Someone truly is a never-was. And bitter about it.

[@vittoriostoraro]

This guy is a complete joke. Nothing but an inexperienced, good looking child. Chicago made a BIG mistake. Worse than YANNICK, if possible.

[@Ennah08]

And you are a grumpy old man who probably took an overdose of Dave Hurwitz :)

[@JT-qr8lt]

@@vittoriostoraro have you been to any of his concerts?? I have, several! The best was Mahler 3 with RCO in Vienna early this year, marvellous - received a standing ovation! Can’t wait for next year he is to do this again with CSO - I have a ticket! I can’t see what you see all the professional musicians in the top orchestras must have missed! Get a life!

[@bloodgrss]

@@JT-qr8lt And you need to get a valid musically critical brain. The Mahler 3 was completely mediocre; if you actually know the score and so many other great performances of it. Standing ovations are routine, sadly, these days and are no indication of the overall quality of a conductor's work. You were standing for Mahler. Stop being a simplistic fanboy and study something about music and its performance...

[@waynesmith3767]

@@JT-qr8ltI haven’t been to a concert in years which didn’t get a standing ovation; audiences seem to think they’re mandatory.

[@waynesmith3767]

Chicago did make a mistake and we will have to live with their decision; take heart: Muti left the CSO in great shape, there will be other conductors during his tenure and the CSO musicians ( who like him) perform pretty well regardless of the conductor. A first rate conductor will bring them to their best but a second (third?) rate one won’t destroy it.