Carnegie Hall

Based in Amsterdam, the Concertgebouw Orchestra was founded in 1888 and officially received the appellation “Royal” at its Centenary Celebration in 1988. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands is patroness.

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is one of the very best orchestras in the world. It has long garnered praise for its performances of the music of Gustav Mahler and Bruckner, and upholds a number of time-honored concert traditions, such as the Passion performance and the Christmas Matinee. The orchestra has always collaborated with the greatest conductors and soloists. Such composers as Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, and Igor Stravinsky conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra on more than one occasion. To this day, the orchestra continues to foster long-term relationships with contemporary composers.

The Concertgebouw Orchestra has cultivated a very distinct, individual sound, which is partly due to the unique acoustics of the Concertgebouw. Another determining factor is the influence of the orchestral musicians and chief conductors, of whom there have been just seven to date: Willem Kes, Willem Mengelberg, Eduard van Beinum, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Mariss Jansons, and Daniele Gatti. In 2022, the orchestra announced that Klaus Mäkelä will be its eighth chief conductor, commencing in September 2027. Iván Fischer has been honorary guest conductor since the 2021–2022 season.

In addition to some 80 concerts performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the orchestra gives 40 concerts at other major concert halls around the world, reaching roughly 250,000 concertgoers each year. The orchestra expands its reach through videos, streaming, and radio and television broadcasts. It also releases CD and DVD recordings on its RCO Live label.

The Academy of the Concertgebouw Orchestra successfully molds young, talented musicians into orchestral players of the highest caliber. The biennial summer project Concertgebouworkest Young brings together hidden talent ages 14 to 17 from across Europe.

The Concertgebouw Orchestra is co-funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science; the Municipality of Amsterdam; sponsors; funds; and numerous donors around the world. The largest portion of its income is generated by proceeds from the concerts it gives in and outside the Netherlands.

ING, Unilever, and Booking.com are global partners of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Klaus Mäkelä has served as chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic since 2020 and music director of Orchestre de Paris since 2021. In 2022, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra announced that he will assume the title of chief conductor in September 2027. In the same season, the Finnish conductor will become music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

An exclusive Decca Classics artist, Mr. Mäkelä has recorded the Ballets Russes music of Debussy and Stravinsky with Orchestre de Paris. With the Oslo Philharmonic, he has released the complete Sibelius symphonies and Sibelius and Prokofiev violin concertos with Janine Jansen.

With the Oslo Philharmonic, Mr. Mäkelä toured Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan and gave guest performances in Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris, and Vienna. Shostakovich continues to be his main composer focus in his fifth season in Oslo. With a focus on French composers and new works, his fourth season at the Orchestre de Paris sees guest performances across Europe and a return to Asia in June 2025.

Mr. Mäkelä’s outstanding debut in September 2020 prompted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to invite him back four times within two years. He closely collaborates with the orchestra in a variety of programs during the 2024–2025 season, including Mahler’s symphonies nos. 1 and 8, the Christmas Matinee, and the Annual Gala concert. They embark on an extensive tour of the US in November 2024.

As a guest conductor, in the 2024–2025 season Mr. Mäkelä returns to the Berliner Philharmoniker and The Cleveland Orchestra. He also makes his first appearance with the Vienna Philharmonic. As a cellist, he partners with members of the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, and Concertgebouw Orchestra and performs at the Verbier Festival.

Mr. Mäkelä studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula and cello with Marko Ylönen, Timo Hanhinen, and Hannu Kiiski.

Lisa Batiashvili, the Georgian-born German violinist, is praised by audiences and fellow musicians for her virtuosity. An award-winning artist, she has developed long-standing relationships with the world’s leading orchestras, conductors, and musicians. In 2021, Ms. Batiashvili formed and continues to lead the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation, which fulfills her lifelong dream to support young, highly talented Georgian musicians to thrive in their musical careers.

After completing her tenure as resident artist of the Berliner Philharmoniker, her 2024–2025 season starts with appearances at the Lucerne Festival with Orchestre de Paris under Klaus Mäkelä. The rest of the season includes extended tours with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Paavo Järvi, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Klaus Mäkelä, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Daniel Harding, and London Symphony Orchestra and Antonio Pappano. She also returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Robin Ticciati, New York Philharmonic with Iván Fischer, and National Symphony Orchestra with Gianandrea Noseda. She gives concerts with Giorgi Gigashvili and Tsotne Zedginidze, two talented young Georgian pianists and composers who are supported by her foundation.

An exclusive recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon, Ms. Batiashvili recorded the Franck Violin Sonata with pianist Giorgi Gigashvili and additional works with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra for her latest album, Secret Love Letters. Her 2020 recording, City Lights, is a musical journey that takes listeners to 11 cities with an autobiographical connection with music ranging from J. S. Bach to Morricone, and Dvořák to Charlie Chaplin. A 12th city was added in 2022 with the release of her single “Desafinado,” celebrating Rio de Janeiro. At the renowned Concert de Paris on Bastille Day in 2020, she performed the title track “City Memories,” which was broadcast internationally. Her discography also includes Visions of Prokofiev with Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, which won an Opus Klassik Award and was shortlisted for the 2018 Gramophone Awards.

Ms. Batiashvili has won the MIDEM Classical Award, Choc de l’année, Accademia Musicale Chigiana International Prize, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival’s Leonard Bernstein Award, and Beethoven Ring. She was named Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year in 2015, and was nominated as Gramophone’s Artist of the Year in 2017 and 2018. She was recently honored with the 2025 Kaiser Otto Prize from the city of Magdeburg for her commitment against war and anti-Semitism and for promoting the European idea. She lives in Berlin and plays a Joseph Guarneri “del Gesu” from 1739, generously loaned by a private collector.