Who is Klaus Mäkelä?
Klaus Mäkelä
conductor designate
Klaus Mäkelä has held the position of chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra since 2020 and music director of Orchestre de Paris since 2021. In 2022 the Concertgebouw Orchestra announced that he will assume the title of chief conductor in September 2027.
In the same season the Finnish conductor will commence as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Klaus Mäkelä
Foto: Marco Borggreve
Klaus Mäkelä
Foto: Marco Borggreve
An exclusive Decca Classics artist, Klaus Mäkelä has recorded the Ballets Russes works of Debussy and Stravinsky with Orchestre de Paris. With the Oslo Philharmonic he has released the complete Sibelius Symphonies, as well as Sibelius and Prokofiev violin concertos with Janine Jansen. Shostakovich continues as a main composer focus in Mäkelä’s fifth season in Oslo. With a focus on French composers and new works, Mäkelä’s fourth season at the Orchestre de Paris will see guest performances across Europe and a return to Asia in June 2025.
His outstanding debut in September 2020 prompted the Concertgebouw Orchestra to invite him back four times within two years, subsequently naming him chief conductor designate. In the 2024-25 season, Mäkelä closely collaborates with the orchestra in a variety of programme, having conducted the Christmas Matinee and the Annual Gala concert as well as toured the United States, and leading Mahler’s Symphonies No. 1 and 8 at the 2025 Mahler Festival.
As a guest conductor he recently returned to the Berliner Philharmoniker and The Cleveland Orchestra, and made his first appearance with the Vienna Philharmonic. As a cellist Mäkelä partners with members of the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and Concertgebouw Orchestra for occasional programmes and each summer performs at the Verbier Festival. Mäkelä studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula and cello with Marko Ylönen, Timo Hanhinen and Hannu Kiiski.
An exclusive Decca Classics artist, Klaus Mäkelä has recorded the Ballets Russes works of Debussy and Stravinsky with Orchestre de Paris. With the Oslo Philharmonic he has released the complete Sibelius Symphonies, as well as Sibelius and Prokofiev violin concertos with Janine Jansen. Shostakovich continues as a main composer focus in Mäkelä’s fifth season in Oslo. With a focus on French composers and new works, Mäkelä’s fourth season at the Orchestre de Paris will see guest performances across Europe and a return to Asia in June 2025.
His outstanding debut in September 2020 prompted the Concertgebouw Orchestra to invite him back four times within two years, subsequently naming him chief conductor designate. In the 2024-25 season, Mäkelä closely collaborates with the orchestra in a variety of programme, having conducted the Christmas Matinee and the Annual Gala concert as well as toured the United States, and leading Mahler’s Symphonies No. 1 and 8 at the 2025 Mahler Festival.
As a guest conductor he recently returned to the Berliner Philharmoniker and The Cleveland Orchestra, and made his first appearance with the Vienna Philharmonic. As a cellist Mäkelä partners with members of the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and Concertgebouw Orchestra for occasional programmes and each summer performs at the Verbier Festival. Mäkelä studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula and cello with Marko Ylönen, Timo Hanhinen and Hannu Kiiski.
Bijgewerkt op zondag 13 april 2025