Klaus Mäkelä

Finland’s latest star conductor, Klaus Mäkelä, has caused a bit of a stir with his Decca label debut - a full cycle of Sibelius Symphonies, no less. But what part of the success is calculated studio work and what is an exceptional flow of music that can also be achieved in concert? To find out, we can compare the studio recording to a recent live experience at Hamburg Elbphilharmonie.

In November 2020, the pandemic situation in Finland has remained calm enough for cultural functions to carry on.* In these exceptional times, there is an unusually great hunger for art, and socially distanced concerts provide a vital antidote to anxiety and uncertainty.

“When the quarantine was in full force, I couldn’t think of a day without music. We were listening to different types of music for maybe five or six hours a day,” says conductor Klaus Mäkelä. He spoke to Andrew Mellor about how and what kind of music has been sustaining him through the period of Covid-19, and what the connection with the audience means to him as a chief conductor.

Orchestras have developed an interest in adopting a more prominent role in society at large. It is time to engage in a debate about why orchestras exist. Classical concerts are not going anywhere, nor is there any question of compromising on artistic quality, but the role of orchestras in society is coming to be understood far more broadly than before.

Crossover has been like a red rag to a bull for many a serious-minded contemporary music buff. Nevertheless, the crossover products of the present decade speak of a respect for difference, and of the multidimensional aspect of both the present day and ourselves.