Klaus Mäkelä and Oslo Philharmonic: Brahms

Klaus Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic

The young Finn Klaus Mäkelä is not only the brilliant chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic and the Orchester de Paris and artistic partner of the Concertgebouw Orchestra but also an excellent cellist. Tonight, you will hear him in both guises. Tonight, Mäkelä will discuss Brahms' Double Concerto with violinist Daniel Lozakovich, also in his twenties, and his orchestra from Oslo.

Brahms

Brahms wrote his last symphonic work, the Double Concerto, with the baroque concerto grosso in mind. There is no solo rivalry but a close collaboration between violin, cello and orchestra. Brahms dedicated the concerto to the cellist Robert Hausmann and Joseph Joachim to settle a dispute with the latter. Brahms said he worked on his First Symphony from 1876 for twenty-one years - that's how much time he needed to escape Beethoven's shadow.