Label news: Decca signs first conductor in 40 years
mainThe last maestro to sign to Decca was Riccardo Chailly in 1980.
The label has just added another – the hyperactive Finn Klaus Mäkelä, 25, principal conductor in Oslo and Paris, and jumper-in all over the place.
His debut recording will be a Sibelius symphonic cycle from Oslo.
Good choice. Normally when you enter in the Decca house it’s for all your career.
With all due respect, couldn’t they (Decca & HarrisonParrott) have waited for him to mature a bit and later record something with a significance?
On the other hand, I wonder who is making money with recordings anywhere any more…
I fully agree.
“… couldn’t they have waited for him to mature a bit and later record something with a significance?”
Since you regard the Sibelius as insignificant… isn’t that exactly what they are doing?
I wonder how many of these new recordings are loss leaders in order to keep the catalogue fresh.
Oh, joy — another Sibelius symphony cycle.
There are plenty of them, but very few are indeed very good.
The Neeme Jarvi’s one with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is the big reference.
…for lack of anything interesting
Congrats to Klaus!
Great news! I look forward to the Sibelius cycle. If Klaus’ debut with Sibelius 1 in Amsterdam a few months ago, and, recently, the performance of the same symphony in Oslo are any indication, I think it is fair to say we can expect something extraordinary.
Oh dearie me! Yet another young conductor on Sibelius, cf. Santtu-Matias Rouvali. Much as I love Sibelius, this hardly gets the pulse quickening.
I’m hoping that this team will have the good sense to record Sibelius’ legends and tone poems, as well as the symphonies. I actually find them more interesting.
The first movement (L. and the maidens of the island) of the Lemminkäinen suite is one of my favourites – we may be talking “one of the eight Desert Island Discs”. Pohjola’s Daughter is another great (I first got to know it on a cassette tape which had no indication of which piece I was listening to and I thought it was Finlandia, with the desolate opening.). As for Tapiola – no thanks! Oooooh, controversial…
Point well taken…
What is Decca?
It’s a record label, like Everest. Most people think it was shuttered years ago.
As for Tapiola – no thanks!
Then you’ve never heard the van Beinum Decca recording!
I’m afraid it’s nothing to do with performance, it’s the tedious thematic material! (If indeed your suggestion refers to my comment below.)
who wants to hear some upstart millennial kid’s interpretation of a deep symphonic cycle?