Mäkelä leads his Oslo troops in a gripping Shostakovich 5

Klaus Mäkelä conducts the Oslo Philharmonic

Leif Ove Andsnes

Klaus Mäkelä

The Oslo Philharmonic

By Mark Pullinger, 26 May 2023

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“no gung-ho leader, but a strategic general, marshalling his troops to cap a gripping account”

Reviewed at Oslo Concert Hall (Konserthus), Oslo on 25 May 2023

Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto no. 3 in D minor, Op.30

Shostakovich, Symphony no. 5 in D minor, Op.47

Klaus Mäkelä, Conductor

Leif Ove Andsnes, Piano

Oslo Philharmonic

Virtuosity and volume: Oslo Phil plays Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich

Chanda VanderHart, 22nd January

Batiashvili’s account of the Tchaikovsky concerto confirms why she remains one of the most compelling violinists of her generation.

***11

Batiashvili, Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic in Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 18th January

A last-minute programme change doubles Batiashvili’s Tchaikovsky at the Elbphilharmonie, but repetition is transformed into fresh revelation.

****1

A high Klaus operation: Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic

David Karlin, 23rd October

In their home concert hall under their Chief Conductor, the Oslo Philharmonic produce a high quality performance of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony.

****1

Superstar performances from Yuja Wang and Klaus Mäkelä in Edinburgh

David Smythe, 22nd August

Yuja Wang plays both Ravel piano concertos with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival.

*****

With a fine Oslo Philharmonic, Yuja Wang wows the Proms

David Karlin, 12th August

Yuja Wang lives up to her superstar status in Liszt and a couple of operatic encores, while the Oslo Philharmonic show icy clarity in Sibelius and orchestral colour aplenty in Strauss.

****1

Majestic swans in flight close Mäkelä's Sibelius cycle in Vienna

Mark Pullinger, 23rd May

The grand finale of the Oslo Philharmonic's Sibelius cycle at the Wiener Konzerthaus ends with a grand finale – the famous Swan Hymn of the Fifth Symphony.

*****

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Klaus Mäkelä leads his Oslo troops in a gripping Shostakovich 5