Klaus Mäkelä conducts Mahler
Future chief conductor Klaus Mäkelä continues his Mahler adventure with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. In Gustav Mahler's Seventh Symphony, we go through a process of purification with the composer. The symphony begins with a wavering back-and-forth movement between conflicting emotions. After mysterious nocturnal visions in the middle movements, it culminates in a triumphant victory. With the aid of many brass instruments and percussion, Mahler unleashes a grandiose fireworks display in the Finale.
Concertgebouw Orchestra
In 1909, Mahler himself conducted the Dutch premiere with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. 'I feel as though I have found a second musical homeland in Amsterdam,' he wrote to his friend Willem Mengelberg. The renowned chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra did everything he could to introduce the public to Mahler's all-encompassing symphonies. This would prompt Alma Mahler to gift the colossal score of the Seventh Symphony to the Concertgebouw Orchestra following the death of her husband in 1911. The capricious Seventh , which initially confused both press and public, grew into a crowd favorite.