Chicago lands a dream conductor
NewsReviews of Klaus Mäkelä’s debut with the Chicago Symphony have been absolutely ecstatic, catapulting the 26 year-old Finn to frontrunner in the race to succeed Riccardo Muti.
Lawrence A Johnson in Chicago Classical Review designated it ‘a riveting performance of kaleidoscopic brilliance and whipcrack energy.’
Hedy Weiss in WTTW calls it ‘an altogether thrilling performance.’
Violist Max Raimi writes on slippedisc.com: ‘I played a brilliant concert this evening with Klaus Makela and the Chicago Symphony. I don’t believe I ever saw a 26 year old with anything like his imagination and degree of mastery on the podium.
‘It brings to mind the 1980s, when it seemed like half the infielders in Major League Baseball came from the same town in the Dominican Republic, San Pedro de Macoris.
‘Finland has approximately the same population as Cook County, Illinois, the home county of Chicago and the CSO. It is beyond remarkable how many world class conductors and composers Finland has produced in recent times.’
Mäkelä has a further date in Chicago, conducting Mahler’s 5th in February. That could be the deal-maker, although he would have to get out of contracts with one of his other orchestras, in Oslo and Paris.
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