Last Tuesday, April 2, the prestigious Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) revealed monumental news surrounding the appointment of 28-year-old Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä as its next music director, the youngest to receive the post in the orchestra's 133-year-long history.
According to a press release from the institution, Mäkelä will begin his tenure in September 2027 and will initially span five years. His appointment was unanimously voted for by CSO's board, making him succeed the 82-year-old Riccardo Muti as its 11th music director.
Klaus Mäkelä and the Top Artistic Post in CSO
Mäkelä's rise to the top in CSO marks his 4th opportunity to do so in an orchestra, alongside his post as music director in both the Oslo Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris, and his would-be position as the chief conductor for Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
To add, the lattermost opportunity will coincide with his succession over Muti's post in CSO by 2027, though he said that he will leave the first two mentioned responsibilities behind by then.
Responding to the news of his appointment as CSO's next music director, Mäkelä said: "I am honored to have been chosen as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and inspired to embark on this journey with an orchestra that combines such brilliance, power, and passion.
"I look forward to getting to know the musicians more over the coming years and am grateful for the time this allows for us to establish and deepen our relationship," he continued, "in preparation for what is a major and exciting commitment."
The announcement of Mäkelä's new post in CSO follows the news of several American orchestras seeing the departure of their music directors.
For one, there's Gustavo Dudamel, the famed and beloved music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who recently shared his intent to bid goodbye to the orchestra by 2026.
Similarly, Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen of the San Francisco Symphony also announced his departure from his orchestra, saying in a statement: "I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does."
