Orchestral performances feature Mäkelä and Salonen

Conductor Klaus Mäkelä performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as part of a three-week fall residency. The program featured Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 7 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4. The performance of Sibelius’s Seventh was noted for its bold projection, rich textures, and organic direction.

In Vienna, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted the Vienna Philharmonic at the Musikverein. The program included works by Debussy, Sibelius, and Witold Lutosławski. While the performance was described as having moments of beauty, the evening was noted to have a rehearsal-like quality during the early stages of the Sibelius Fifth Symphony.