Klaus Mäkelä, a 26-year-old Finnish conductor, will become chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam for the 2027-28 season as part of a 10-year commitment
Klaus Mäkelä, a 26-year-old Finnish conductor, will become chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam for the 2027-28 season as part of a 10-year commitment announced Friday.
He replaces Daniele Gatti, who was fired as chief conductor in August 2018 following a report in The Washington Post in which the conductor was accused of inappropriate behavior. Mäkelä will become the Concertgebouw's artistic partner next season.
Mäkelä has been chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic and artistic director of the Turku Music Festival since the 2020-21 season, and he became music director of the Orchestre de Paris for the 2021-22 season.
He will conduct five programs with the Concertgebouw next season and increase the amount in future years.
The Concertgebouw was led by Bernard Haitink from 1961-88 (through 1973 as co-chief conductor with Eugen Jochum) and then by Riccardo Chailly from 1988–2004 and Mariss Jansons from 2004–15. Gatti began with the 2016-17 season.
