Klaus Mäkelä started as Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in August 2020. After a long wait and pandemic-cancelled tours, Klaus Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic make their first appearances together outside of Norway with residencies in Vienna and Hamburg in May 2022.

In both cities all seven Sibelius symphonies will be played over three days – starting in Vienna’s Konzerthaus on 21/22/23 May and continuing in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie on 30/31 May and 1 June 2022 where the concerts are an important part of the International Musikfest Hamburg. The Residencies support Klaus Mäkelä’s and the Oslo Philharmonic’s first release on Decca which features the complete Sibelius Cycle. 

The idea in both cities is to present this milestone of Nordic music in a very concentrated form and have the orchestra stay in one place for a longer period of time. In both Hamburg and Vienna, the concert halls also feature Klaus Mäkelä as a Portrait Artist in other programmes conducting the excellent local orchestras and in chamber music projects. The residencies are bookended by the orchestra’s first-ever performance at the Paris Philharmonie and a return to London’s Barbican.