Sibelius – Gathering Note

Mäkelä’s heroic survey in Chicago

Klaus Mäkelä is back in Chicago for one program before taking the orchestra on a week-long tour of the Northeast. A performance at Carnegie Hall—featuring the same program he conducted this weekend, a survey of two heroic depictions in Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben and Sibelius’s Lemminkäinen Suite—anchors the tour.

This isn’t Mäkelä’s first journey to Carnegie Hall with one of his orchestras. He has previously brought both the Orchestre de Paris and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to the storied venue, receiving mixed but always passionate critical responses. Hopefully this next foray into New York’s unforgiving critical landscape fares better.

Based on Friday evening’s performance, it should. Both works chosen by the Finnish conductor hold deep historical connections to the Chicago Symphony. Theodore Thomas led the U.S. premieres of Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, and both “The Swan of Tuonela” and “Lemminkäinen’s Return” from Sibelius’s suite. And a few years ago, Mäkelä even programmed “The Swan” in one of his early guest appearances here. These scores clearly suit him.

New and upcoming

Joyce DiDonato and Time for Three perform Emily — No Prisoner Be this week in Chicago. Kevin Puts composed this evening-length song cycle specifically for these artists, weaving together 26 movements that create a continuous, immersive journey through Emily Dickinson’s poetry. With Puts’ prior collaborations with both DiDonato and Time for Three, this promises to be something truly special. Ticket and concert information.

Oak Park’s Handel Week Festival kicks off this Sunday, February 15, at Pilgrim Congregational Church, just a few blocks from my house. I had no idea this festival existed until recently, and I’m genuinely surprised to find it practically in my backyard. Not sure what to expect from a mid-February dose of baroque music, but I’m counting on it to chase away the winter blues.

The same weekend Chicago City Opera presents Massenet’s Cendrillon at The Checkout. It’s a gem that doesn’t get performed as often as La Bohème or Carmen. Its melodies are accessible and moving, the story is timeless, and it’s a genuine treat for anyone who loves beautiful music.

At the end of the month, Klaus Mäkelä returns for what promises to be a concert you won’t want to miss. Mäkelä’s program pairs Sibelius’s Lemminkäinen Legends with Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. His approach to Sibelius has divided critics, but having a music director genuinely invested in the Finnish master bodes well for Chicago. Just as Muti shaped the CSO’s lyrical sensibility, Mäkelä’s understanding of Sibelius may bring new shading to the orchestra’s collective sound.

Seattle Opera has announced its 2026/27 season. Staying true to its recent tradition of one concert performance per season, the company will present Léo Delibes’s Lakmé in concert. They’ll also stage Gabriela Lena Frank’s El último sueño de Frida y Diego, an opera that Lyric Opera of Chicago presents this spring. Seattle Opera’s latest concert performance was Strauss’s Daphne, reviewed by Lisa Hirsch here and Thomas May here. Meanwhile, San Francisco Opera’s 2026/27 season brings Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra and Wagner’s Das Rheingold, the latter launching a complete Ring cycle that culminates in 2028.

Christian Tetzlaff dazzles in Sibelius Violin Concerto; Afkham and the CSO bring Schoenberg to life

Originally published on Seen and Heard International

Violinist Christian Tetzlaff and guest conductor David Afkham headlined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s concert series this weekend. The German duo presented a program of works by Richard Wagner, Jean Sibelius, and Arnold Schoenberg – three selections that highlight the shifting landscape of classical music at the turn of the 20th century.

Composed just a year apart, Sibelius’ Violin Concerto and Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande reflect two distinct responses to the influence of Richard Wagner. A young Sibelius was deeply affected by Wagner’s music, particularly after experiencing Parsifal at Bayreuth. Although Sibelius initially attempted operatic composition, he shifted to orchestral works and initially retained traces of Wagner’s harmonic language and orchestration. But gradually, he developed a flourish-lite style focused on organic development and austere textures. Schoenberg, too, revered Wagner, particularly Tristan und Isolde. Pelleas und Melisande embodies both the height of late Romanticism and a pivot toward the composer’s more radical innovations. Schoenberg roots the piece with Wagnerian leitmotifs and expansive orchestration. Yet the work’s complex harmonic language hints at dissonances that would later become a staple of the composer’s music.

Sibelius, Schoenberg, and the CSO — a must-hear concert this week

This week, Chicago audiences will have the chance to hear one of the world’s foremost violinists, Christian Tetzlaff, take on Sibelius’ haunting Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Under the baton of David Afkham, the program also features Schoenberg’s Pelléas und Melisande, a lush, late-Romantic tone poem that offers a fascinating contrast to the modernist reputation Schoenberg would later cultivate. This performance also takes on added meaning—especially in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles fires that tragically destroyed portions of the Schoenberg archives.

Klaus Mäkelä meets Shostakovich

The election last week has been, to put it mildly, numbing. I made it through about a year of the first Trump administration before the despair set in. It was the Jesuits—thank you, St. Joseph and Seattle University—who helped keep my soul intact, offering me a lifeline of reflection and community. And, surprisingly, Leif Ove Andsnes’ Sibelius recital album also played its part.