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Consolation for Klaus Mäkelä after Vienna Phil debut

Orchestras

norman lebrecht

December 16, 2024

The over-booked Finn had a hard time at his Vienna Philharmonic debut this weekend with Mahler’s sixth Symphony. The experienced critic for Der Standard, Stefan Ender, found the performance ‘incredibly loud’, resulting in ‘a levelling out of most of the subtleties and ambiguities’.

Ender concluded: ‘It is surprising that the Philharmonic Orchestra, which is so keen on its interpretative traditions, unconditionally submitted to the one-dimensional verve of the 28-year-old debutant.’

Susanne Zobl wrote in Kurier: ‘When you have long since left the Musikverein and can still hear the sound after a subway ride, then it is clear that something happened at this concert.‘

Walter Weiderinder has an interesting conclusion in Die Presse: …’ what happened musically? Mäkelä has a penchant for Mahler’s relentless drama, but also for colour, for the often garish, gruesome effects: in the scherzo, for example, when the horns howl like gloating hounds of hell. The ironic, terse reminiscences of limping minuets of yesteryear were no less successful for the strings and woodwinds – spiced up by the bassoon with an exquisite pinch of humour. Practically the entire brass section was impeccable, with the horns leading the way in both solos and tutti. Unfortunately, the tuba was temporarily lacking in depth.

‘Mäkelä showed weaknesses in two areas. Some of the lyrical passages, such as the extensions of the ‘Alma theme’ in the first movement, were too broad, more reminiscent of the ‘Farewell’ from the ‘Song of the Earth’ – and in the context of the Sixth, bordered on the sentimental. On the other hand, it was disappointing how impassively he passed over many a harmonically meaningful turn. Something should happen at such points.

‘It would therefore be unfair to categorise Klaus Mäkelä as excessively overrated. So let him continue to gain experience, also with the Vienna Philharmonic. After all, youth is the only mistake that diminishes with every passing second.’

Our 2am team reports that after the concert. the debutant went to dinner at the Hotel Imperial with visiting family and friends, including his current girlfriend, the Norwegian orchestra violinist Amanda Håoy Horn.