"Grandiose!"
"Absolutely fantastic!"
"Unforgettable!"
are the words that still resonate with the singers of the National Children's Choir and Boys' Choir.
What it included for the singers: a faithful rehearsal olv the conductors Irene and László, three rehearsals and two concerts in the Concertgebouw with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Groot Omroepkoor, le chœur de l'Orchestre de Paris, Laurens Symfonisch and eight soloists olv Klaus Mäkelä.
"With fantastic choirs from Hilversum, Paris, Rotterdam, and with the intrepid National Children's and Boys' Choir, Mäkelä began the intricate polyphonic threads Mahler weaves through the Veni Creator Spiritus with clarity and transparency."
https://www.trouw.nl/cultuur-media/deze-uitvoering-van-gustav-mahlers-achtste-symfonie-was-er-dankzij-klaus-makela-eentje-uit-duizenden~bb34aa4d/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
"The children amaze everyone with their beautiful fresh timbres and musical maturity."
https://www.volkskrant.nl/muziek/het-mahler-festival-mis-niets-met-ons-mahlerblog~b7563e86/
"Bravo to the four choirs for their precise and compelling diction - their razor-sharp consonants like shards of glass in the waves. Bravo also to the children, some aged just ten and singing from memory. They were a formidable force in what must be one of the finest educational projects staged in the Netherlands in recent years."
https://bachtrack.com/review-makela-royal-concertgebouw-mahler-festival-amsterdam-may-2025
The concert can be watched online for three months: https://npo.nl/start/serie/mahler-festival-2025/seizoen-1/mahler-symfonie-nr-8/afspelen
