Klaus Makela
©Photo: Marco Borggreve
Klaus Makela
©Photo: Marco Borggreve
Klaus Makela
©Photo: Heikki Tuuli

Klaus Mäkelä

Conductor / Cello
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”The result was a profoundly gripping performance, one that grabbed the attention and never let go. It also thrilled at the individual level, conjuring through impressive solos and sectional work the majesty, stillness, and raw power of nature.”

(The Plain Dealer, 2019)

Chief Conductor & Artistic Advisor Designate: Oslo Philharmonic
Artistic Director: Turku Music Festival
Principal Guest Conductor: Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Artist in Association: Tapiola Sinfonietta

Klaus Mäkelä has established a strong international presence through his instant musical connection with orchestras around the world. Mäkelä is Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor Designate of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and will assume the position at the beginning of the 2020/21 season. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Artist in Association with Tapiola Sinfonietta, and Artistic Director of the Turku Music Festival.

In the 2019/20 season, Mäkelä makes his first appearances with the NDR Elbphilharmonie, Münchner Philharmoniker, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Nederlands Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orquesta Nacional de España, London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Hallé and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He returns to the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, MDR Leipzig, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, The Minnesota Orchestra, NAC Ottawa, Gothenburg and Tokyo Metropolitan symphony orchestras, and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Mäkelä also continues his tenures with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Tapiola Sinfonietta where he has embarked on a Beethoven Cycle which will continue over the next two seasons. This seasons’ concert programmes also include masterworks by Bruckner, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, and Debussy, Ravel and Berlioz. 

Makela conducting
Klaus Mäkelä

Highlights from last season include appearances with Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de Lyon, Frankfurt Radio, Antwerp, Bern, and Malmö symphony orchestras, Bergen Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse which have led to immediate and consistent re-invitations. 

Also working in opera, Mäkelä made his operatic debut in with the Finnish National Opera conducting The Magic Flute and a concertante performance of Erkki Melartin’s Aino.

Mäkelä studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula and cello with Marko Ylönen, Timo Hanhinen and Hannu Kiiski. As a soloist, he has performed with Finnish orchestras such as the Lahti Symphony, Kuopio Symphony and Jyväskylä Sinfonia as well as appearing at many Finnish festivals including the Kuhmo Chamber Music and Naantali Music Festival. He plays a Giovanni Grancino cello from 1698, kindly made available to him by the OP Art Foundation.

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Klaus Mäkelä
Klaus Mäkelä
Klaus Mäkelä
Klaus Mäkelä
Klaus Mäkelä

“The Cleveland Orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7 was stunning, with TCO and Mäkelä completely on the same wavelength. … The members of The Cleveland Orchestra themselves gave Mäkelä the ultimate, and rare, accolade of putting down their instruments to applaud the young visiting conductor. Mäkelä in tandem with The Cleveland Orchestra were simply sensational.”

(Bachtrack, October 2019)

“Makela himself had a fairly high bar to reach on the second half of the program, conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No.7, a beloved and well-known work about which almost every aficionado has an opinion. Consider that bar reached.”

(The Plain Dealer, October 2019)

“But the star of the show was Mozart’s Requiem […] and given an urgent, sharply defined account by Mäkelä and his vocal and instrumental forces. … a thoroughly convincing account, fresh and forthright.”

(Scotsman, October 2019)

“Mäkelä knew exactly how to build from slow and sinister, brooding and ponderous into a veritable firecracker of a finale, crashing cymbals and timpani utilised to magnificent effect.”

(Bachtrack, September 2019)

“The granite-like climaxes of the second movement, interspersed with atmospheric silences, were extremely powerful and at the end of the journey Mäkelä created an irresistible surge, finally unleashing all the pent-up energy from the preceding movements.”

(Bachtrack, October 2018)

“A high level of performance, led by Klaus Mäkelä, glowed with colour… Young Mäkelä delivered a masterpiece as an opera conductor”

(Helsingin Sanomat, May 2017)

“Oulu Symphony Orchestra seemed obviously liberated by the Mäkelä’s energy, particularly in Beethoven’s Symphony No.7 op. 92 in which the jubilation could be sensed throughout the whole hall.“

(Kaleva newspaper, January 2017)

“Our country’s music education system has produced a number of internationally successful conductors. The latest addition is 20-year-old Klaus Mäkelä. With a bright talent and determination he captured the audience of the Kymi Sinfonietta concert. His bold movements encouraged the Orchestra to play with real feeling.”

(Kymen Sanomat, October 2016)

“Mäkelä conducted gloriously – self confident and powerful, but at the same time graceful and controlled.”

(Rondo Classic, March 2016)

“The young Klaus Mäkelä is a great conducting talent. His debut with Tapiola Sinfonietta showed that in front of the orchestra he has a natural authority. His musical abilities are so strong that it’s easy for him to gain the trust of the musicians. In Tchaikovsky’s Mozartiana and Arensky’s Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, he demonstrated his fine sense of phrasing, sound, rhythm and nuance.”

(Helsingin Sanomat, January 2016)

“Klaus Mäkelä is an extraordinary talent, who will go far. He manages to channel his musical expression in a constructive way.”

(Huvudstadsbladet, January 2016)

“You can already now say that Klaus Mäkela is a true conductor”

(Turun Sanomat, March 2015)
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Klaus Mäkelä's website
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, February 2018; YLE
Klaus Mäkelä
Klaus Mäkelä
@klausmakela
Thank you @bachtrack for the great ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review! 😊 @CleveOrchestra https://t.co/p6WN34LjuU
22 Oct