28-year-old conductor Klaus Mäkelä will lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Klaus Makela has a lot on his plate - or podium. The New York Times called him the fastest-rising maestro of his generation, with leading roles conducting orchestras in Oslo, Paris and Amsterdam. And now he has just been announced as the new music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 28, he is the youngest ever to lead the group. Klaus Makela, congratulations and welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
KLAUS MAKELA: Oh, thank you very much.
SHAPIRO: You have worked with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra before. This is you conducting Mahler's Fifth Symphony with them last year.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE OF MAHLER'S "SYMPHONY NO. 5")
SHAPIRO: You've said that different orchestras are like different characters, so how would you describe the character of Chicago? Can you tell us a story about what makes this orchestra unique?
MAKELA: I fell in love with the orchestra from the first rehearsal. It's an orchestra which has an enormous appetite for perfection and for brilliance of sound. And I was completely mesmerized by it. It's an orchestra which has this shine to it, intensity, strength. And they're wonderful to work with.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SHAPIRO: What do you think you've gained by collaborating with different orchestras on different continents that may be thousands of miles apart from each other?
MAKELA: Oh, I love it. It's so fascinating because they could not be more different, but they are both equally amazing. It comes to a few different things - that they have completely different histories, completely different halls where they're playing.
SHAPIRO: Does that mean you take a different approach to conducting them?
MAKELA: Absolutely. And of course, I have to be myself. But I also have to be, in some ways, two different conductors because at the end, the conductor's job is to be useful. And that means that you have to be flexible in order to get the best result.
SHAPIRO: Can you give us an example of what you mean by that?
MAKELA: For example, here in Chicago, the orchestra plays very much to my beat. In Amsterdam there is quite a strong delay, which has to do with the acoustic of the hall and the tradition of the orchestra, and that already gives a very different sound. So how I give an upbeat is already very different, and it's always interesting. And of course, you can never be perfect, but you try to sort of match the wavelength and the frequency of optimizations. And at the end it's working with people, and that's my favorite part of it.
SHAPIRO: Is there any risk of spreading yourself too thin, of not putting down roots in the hometown of the orchestra that you lead?
MAKELA: I try to feel at home wherever I am, and especially now after 2027 when my contract begins here, and in Amsterdam. I will really be at home here and in Amsterdam equally, and I will be fully invested in the city of Chicago and in the orchestra. And of course, I need to feel at home as much as they need to feel that I am present here.
SHAPIRO: Have you tried the Chicago hotdog or the deep-dish pizza yet?
MAKELA: (Laughter) Thank you for asking. I should try. The thing is that I don't eat red meat, but I think I will be very tempted and probably will try.
SHAPIRO: They do make very good veggie dogs there.
MAKELA: Really? Oh, modern times.
SHAPIRO: And, you know, the deep-dish pizza can be meatless. Yeah.
MAKELA: Oh, that's fantastic. I will try for sure.
SHAPIRO: You have also been recording music. You are only the third conductor who's ever been signed to the legendary Decca record label. And your debut was a full set of all seven symphonies by John Sibelius.
(SOUNDBITE OF OSLO PHILHARMONIC AND KLAUS MAKELA PERFORMANCE OF SIBELIUS' "SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN E MINOR, OP. 39: III. SCHERZO. ALLEGRO")
SHAPIRO: Why did you choose him?
MAKELA: I love Sibelius' music. And for me, to make recordings is a dream. I love the process of recording, preparing, post-production, the actual recording, everything about it. And Sibelius with the Oslo Philharmonic was, in a way, a natural thing to do. It was repertoire which is in my DNA, it was in the orchestra's DNA, and it was wonderful to do it together.
(SOUNDBITE OF OSLO PHILHARMONIC AND KLAUS MAKELA PERFORMANCE OF SIBELIUS' "SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN E MINOR, OP. 39: III. SCHERZO. ALLEGRO")
SHAPIRO: I've heard someone describe conducting as throwing energy around a room. How would you describe it?
MAKELA: That's fantastic. I love that. That's a very good description. I think my job is to make people play better. It's working with people. Every day is different. Everybody is different. You have to aim for the highest result, best result. And it's wonderful. It's such a privilege because we work with the best pieces of music every day, and it never gets dull. It only gets better.
(SOUNDBITE OF ORCHESTRE DE PARIS AND KLAUS MAKELA PERFORMANCE OF STRAVINSKY'S "LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS, PT. 1 'L'ADORATION DE LA TERRE': II. LES AUGURES PRINTANIERS")
SHAPIRO: You've clearly got such a passion for the repertoire, but the typical audience member for an orchestra concert is about 30 years older than you. So what do you think it'll take to get more people of your generation engaged in the kind of music you make?
MAKELA: I'm hopeful because I think the experience of a concert is, in a way, very 2024. It's a very unique experience, happens only once, every night is different. And it comes down to how to create an experience which makes people very excited and very engaged as an audience member. I love going to a concert. I went last night to hear the Bach concert at the Chicago Symphony and I loved it. I sat down, I was without my phone. I didn't know anything was happening in the world. I was just in the moment, listening. And it gave me so much. And the best thing is that, you know, what art, you know, gives us is something so timeless and so eternal. And those are the values which last and stand. And it's the complete opposite to the kind of use one culture of today.
SHAPIRO: And yet the younger audiences are not arriving. What do you think it's going to take to make the case you've just made to them?
MAKELA: Well, it has to do with repertoire, I think. And if you create a nice experience, it's a little bit like a museum when there's an interesting exhibition, where you put together a very, very fine line of works in a way that is very engaging. It's irresistible.
(SOUNDBITE OF ORCHESTRE DE PARIS AND KLAUS MAKELA PERFORMANCE OF STRAVINSKY'S "LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS, PT. 1 'L'ADORATION DE LA TERRE': II. LES AUGURES PRINTANIERS")
SHAPIRO: Do you ever feel like, walking into a room with musicians who may be old enough to be your parents or grandparents, there is a higher bar you have to clear to prove yourself? Do you ever feel that you're walking in with expectations that might be more difficult for you to meet than somebody who might have been twice your age?
MAKELA: Not really, because at the end, the only responsibility I have is for the composer. And that's what I battle with every day. Do I understand enough of the piece in order to present it? And, of course, you know, before you go in front of the orchestra, you have to make sure that you have a full concept of what you want to achieve. But that's my responsibility, and that's what I think about more than other expectations.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SHAPIRO: I'm just thinking, you're going to be spending so many hours on airplanes going between Amsterdam and Chicago. How do you spend that time in that little cocoon in the air?
MAKELA: (Laughter) Well, first of all, I feel very bad because it's not very environmentally friendly.
SHAPIRO: That's true.
MAKELA: And I hope there will be, in my lifetime, some alternatives. But I sleep a lot.
SHAPIRO: That's when you get your sleep.
MAKELA: Exactly. And I study. And actually, that's a good time because I'm the worst in answering messages and I feel very bad about it. And when I fly, then I answer all the messages I haven't answered before.
SHAPIRO: That is Klaus Makela, who has just been announced as the new music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Thanks so much for speaking with us.
MAKELA: Thank you so much, a pleasure.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
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