Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä has been music director of the Orchestre de Paris since September 2021, and he served as chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic from 2020 to 2026. He assumes the title of chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam in September 2027 and, in the same season, begins his tenure as Zell Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Mäkelä’s final season as music director of the Orchestre de Paris marks the culmination of a seven-year artistic partnership, with programs centered on large-scale choral and symphonic repertoire, including Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet and Mahler’s symphonies Nos. 3 and 8. This season also includes the world premiere of a new work by Thomas Larcher; Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon, and Gautier Capuçon; and a gala concert at Philharmonie de Paris featuring Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, a work that has become a defining thread of his collaboration with the orchestra.
Season highlights with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra include Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Mahler’s Symphony no. 7, Schumann’s Symphony no. 1, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Lotta Wennäkoski’s Flounce, and the world premiere of a new work for orchestra by Magnus Lindberg. In December, Mäkelä conducts the Amsterdam Christmas Matinee for the fifth time and leads the orchestra on tours to France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Spain before returning to the Baden-Baden Easter Festival for the second installment of the orchestra’s annual residency, where they present three programs.
With the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mäkelä opens the season with a three-week residency, including performances of Stravinsky’s Petrushka, Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with baritone Thomas Hampson as soloist. In January 2027 he leads the Orchestra on its first international tour under his direction, with concerts in eight cities across Europe. The season also includes an all-Finnish program pairing Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1 with works by Lindberg in May and concludes with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Boulez’s rarely performed Le soleil des eaux in June.
Mäkelä is an exclusive Decca Classics artist whose discography includes works by Stravinsky, Debussy, Berlioz, and Ravel with the Orchestre de Paris, as well as symphonies by Sibelius and Shostakovich with the Oslo Philharmonic. His most recent recording, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, was captured live with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra at the Mahler Festival 2025.
In the 2026/27 Season, Klaus Mäkelä appears as guest conductor with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala in Milan, London Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic. As a cellist, he partners with members of the Orchestre de Paris, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra for chamber music performances.
The CSO’s music director position is endowed in perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation.
Klaus Mäkelä records exclusively for Decca Classics.
