Klaus Mäkelä named Music Director of Chicago Symphony

[James Meckley]

28-year-old Klaus Mäkelä has been named music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra starting in the 2027-28 season. That's the same season he'll begin his tenure in Amsterdam—quite an undertaking for such a young man.

https://chicagoclassicalreview.com/2024/04/klaus-makela-to-become-cso-music-director-in-2027/

James

[erikwilson7]

This is fascinating news (I'm a Chicagoan).

I saw him conduct M5 last year in Chicago, and I was impressed. Of course, he still has much to prove.

[Roland Flessner]

I attended his M5 here in Chicago as well. I don't have a strong recollection of the performance, but then I'm extremely selective about my M5s. I will be hearing Mäkelä conduct Shostakovich 10 in a couple days.

My seat is in the upper balcony, practically nosebleed territory. Orchestra Hall has few if any good seats, and you can pay $$$ for really bad sound on the main floor, depending on where you are. The upper balcony used to offer a reasonable balance of sound quality vs. cost. However, tickets for the Shostakovich concert are $95 up there, which seems absurdly high. I snagged a "partial view" seat for $55. (I can get a better seat in Milwaukee for so much less that the difference covers my train fare.)

Orchestra Hall is hopeless, and I can't imagine the CSO would move to a different venue, much less build a new hall. I'm reminded of Eugene Ormandy's one-word response when he was asked if anything could be used to improve the notoriously dry acoustics at Northrup Auditorium in Minneapolis: "Dynamite."

[barryguerrero]

That's what I don't get either . It's clearly the big gorilla in the room. NOBODY is talking about a possible replacement strategy for Orchestra Hall, and it's quite clear that it's no longer competitive as a major symphony venue. I get tired of the endless talk about how wonderful the C.S.O. is for one very simple reason: Orchestra Hall. They sound better when they play or record elsewhere.

[Roland Flessner]

We missed an opportunity when Millennium Park was built in the early oughts. At the north end is the Harris Theater, which is a terrific venue for ensembles up to medium size. A hall large enough to accommodate a big orchestra would have been a wonderful addition to the park. But, I'm sure the CSO wants to stay as far as possible from the political leadership of the city, and for good reason.

The Auditorium Theater a few blocks S features really excellent acoustics, but probably has more seats than the CSO would want, and I don't think it has elevators to the upper floors, a nonstarter. As for a new hall, we don't really have a downtown location that would work.

Most good halls are shoeboxes, but Orchestra Hall is egg shaped. Aside from the inherent problems projecting sound, I don't think it has enough cubic feet of air to support a Mahler-size orchestra. It could serve well for theatrical events if the orchestra played somewhere else.

Fun fact: Medinah Temple served as a frequent recording venue for the CSO after the disastrous Orchestra Hall remodel in the late '60s. RCA avoided Orchestra Hall like the plague after that remodel. Decca recorded in Medinah but the unnatural perspective of those Solti recordings has not aged well. (Timpani sound like they're at the front of the stage, for example.) DG managed to get respectable recorded sound from Orchestra Hall for its Boulez recordings, but I don't think other labels have.

Medinah Temple was turned into a Bloomingdale's store but had been empty until recently. Now it's a temporary site for a casino, the permanent site to be built along the river at the former location of the Tribune printing plant. But Bally's, purported builder of the casino, is in financial difficulties and may not be able to complete the project.

I heard a fine community orchestra at Medinah before Bloomingdale's took over. Acoustics were excellent.

At least one Solti/CSO recording--M7--was made at the Great Hall of the Krannert Center at U of I in Champaign. Acoustics there are excellent, too. I should keep a closer eye on their schedule.

[barryguerrero]

Thank you for that info. Roland. I was aware that Solti's M7 was recorded at U. of I. in Champagne. I think it's the best sounding of the Solti Mahler recordings, but I also feel that both the Levine and Abbado are musically better (Medinah Temple and Orchestra Hall, I presume). None of the three are 'poor', but Solti's finale is a bit of a train-wreck, with the back of the train frequently slamming into the front of the train. He also takes the opening of the finale so fast, that the timpanist doesn't even attempt to play the written rolls. The Barenboim/C.S.O. M7 I heard on tour in Carnegie Hall was very good. Even better was the Bruckner 7, which I think was on the final night. The "Rite of Spring" came in third place, but was still decent enough (a tad heavy). All the other 'filler' works were completely forgettable for me. Well, enough of that.

This Micki-Mouse-la guy doesn't really start until 2027, so he'll get some more post-Covid experience under his belt. I'm just hoping the Concergebouw 'gets real', has an epiphany and grabs Jaap van Zweden while they still can. He's equally great in both Bruckner and Mahler, which perfectly fits their profile.

[Roland Flessner]

The Mäkelä Shostakovich 10 was superb last night, nIcely paced, intense without being overwrought, with first-class execution by the orchestra all around, and stellar work by the percussion. I'd consider myself lucky to hear another live performance of it as good. I'm not quite as familiar with the Cello Concerto #1 that preceded it, but that was just as fine. (Soloist was Sol Gabetta, who hails from Argentina.)

In the late-'90s remodel, an unsightly acoustic reflector was added above the stage. (Musicians call it The Spaceship.) It's a double-edged sword: it brought clearer sound to the farther reaches of the hall, but it flattens dynamic contrast and can make the woodwinds sound shrill. Before that, sound was really murky in the Upper Balcony where I usually sit. Although it's more tolerable now, once the music gets to forte or louder, the string tone disappears. Before The Spaceship landed, I would sit in the Gallery, the top balcony, but now the sound is way too harsh up there. Tinkering with this hall is merely rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, or if you prefer a different metaphor, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Several years ago, I paid beaucoup bucks to hear Thielemann and Staatskapelle Dresden. I was on the main floor in an area with standing waves and the sound was just a mess.

Barry, I agree that the Solti M7 is his best CSO Mahler recording up until the wheels come off the bus in the finale. It's the only CD in the series that I've kept. While he can whip up a big noise, I don't think he had much feel for Mahler's counterpoint, which is really the heart of the music.

[barryguerrero]

I'm glad to hear that Makela's Shostakovich 10 was really good. I have no desire for this guy to be a turkey and fail. The 10th is not that easy of a symphony to pull off. In my opinion, it doesn't play itself. Some good news is still good news.