Audio
Live recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with Klaus Mäkelä
Fri, Oct 17, 2025
On 7 November 2025, Decca Classics will release the live recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Klaus Mäkelä during the 2025 Mahler Festival in Amsterdam. The recording, captured live in May 2025, will be available digitally worldwide, and issued as a physical CD in Japan and Korea to coincide with the orchestra's first Asia tour with Mäkelä.
‘Symphony of a Thousand’
Recorded during two sold-out festival performances on 16 and 18 May, the album captures Mäkelä leading the Concertgebouw Orchestra, joined by five choirs – the Choeur de l'Orchestre de Paris, Netherlands Radio Choir, Laurens Symfonisch, and the Dutch National Children’s and Boys’ Choirs – and eight international soloists in Mahler's ‘Symphony of a Thousand’. The performance on 18 May, the anniversary of Mahler's death, was attended by his granddaughter, Marina Mahler.
Reflecting on the project, Mäkelä said:
Conducting Mahler's Eighth was one of the great moments of my life, which I will remember forever. I feel those two performances really carried a very special momentum for everyone involved. I certainly felt it on stage and hopefully it was also felt in the audience.
Raving reviews
The performances were widely praised by critics and audiences alike. Bachtrack described it as "a monumental Eighth from Klaus Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra", while Dutch national newspaper Trouw highlighted the "fantastic choirs from Hilversum, Paris, Rotterdam, and the intrepid National Children's and Boys' Choirs".
Mahler and the Concertgebouw Orchestra
Gustav Mahler’s close connection with the Concertgebouw Orchestra began in 1903, when chief conductor Willem Mengelberg invited him to conduct his Third Symphony in Amsterdam. The composer and conductor returned several times in the ensuing years. Since then, the orchestra has become internationally renowned for its performances of Mahler’s music, a tradition continued by each of Mengelberg’s successors, Eduard van Beinum, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Mariss Jansons and Daniele Gatti. As chief conductor designate, Klaus Mäkelä is carrying on this rich Mahler tradition.