There’s something about the Proms that brings out the star quality in visiting orchestras – and their conductors. Plenty already think that Klaus Mäkelä wafts clouds of stardust wherever he goes – including the managements of both the Concertgebouw and the Chicago Symphony orchestras, who have announced him as their new chief from 2027 – but any doubters would have been swayed by this Prom with the Orchestre de Paris.
The programme, at once crowd-pleasing and satisfyingly meaty, was about as Parisian as they come: Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune; Stravinsky’s Petrushka, written for Paris’s Ballets Russes; and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, one of this orchestra’s calling-cards. Each was played with the kind of care and technical precision that might seem merely polished in the context of a recording but was electrifying in the hall.
