Conductor Cristian Măcelaru Announces 2026-2027 Season Highlights
With technique declared a “master class” and delivered “with close attention and sharp intuition” (The Washington Post), GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor Cristian Măcelaru announces his 2026-2027 season. After a celebrated inaugural season as Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO), he returns for a second season with highlights including a World Premiere by Errollyn Wallen and a U.S. Premiere by Mark Simpson, plus the Midwest Premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s Symphony No. 5. He and the orchestra will welcome such guest artists as Lang Lang, Nicola Benedetti, Ray Chen, and Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Măcelaru leads a triumphant farewell season – his seventh – with the Orchestre National de France, conducting a season-opening program curated in his honor. He goes on to lead the ONF in a tour of Germany joined by violinist Julia Fischer, as well as the orchestra’s tour of South Korea.
As a guest conductor, Măcelaru appears for a return engagement with the WDR Sinfonieorchester, where he previously served as Chief Conductor and later as Artistic Partner. He also returns this season to the San Francisco Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. He leads the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra on a three-concert tour of Germany with pianist Mao Fujita, and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester on a five-city tour of Italy and Spain with cellist Julia Hagen. The season brings collaborations with celebrated soloists Emanuel Ax, Steven Banks, Karen Cargill, Alexandra Dariescu, Mao Fujita, Zlatomir Fung, Simon Trpčeski, Alisa Weilerstein, and more.
Măcelaru begins this season on the heels of a record-setting George Enescu International Competition, which he leads as Artistic Director from August 23 to September 19, 2026 in Bucharest, Romania. In its 20th anniversary edition, this year’s competition drew an unprecedented 819 applications from outstanding young musicians in 58 countries, including a record 64 applications from the United States. This marks Măcelaru’s third competition as Artistic Director at the Enescu Festival and Competition, where he has transformed both the competition and the biennial George Enescu International Festival with masterclass offerings, diversity of repertoire, health and wellbeing resources for participants, and partnerships with social and humanitarian organizations. During summer 2026, Măcelaru returned for his tenth year as Music Director and Conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, which he led from July 26 to August 9, 2026, overseeing a showcase of five World Premieres, two U.S. Premieres, and seven West Coast Premieres highlighted by Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 15, Lincoln. He holds the title of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he will return for engagements in summer 2027.
In the season’s first engagement, Măcelaru commences his seventh and final season with the Orchestre National de France, conducting a program curated in his honor on September 10, 2026. Showcasing a “triptych” of works representing the three nations intrinsic to Măcelaru’s musical identity – the United States, France, and Romania – the program opens with Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, followed by Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1, featuring Nicolas Altstaedt, and concluding with Enescu’s Symphony No. 1, a work featured on the ONF’s 2024 recording of the Romanian composer’s works. He next leads the ONF on September 23, 2026, conducting the orchestra in “Scheherazade and Hip-Hop,” a program augmenting Rimsky-Korsakov’s classic work with choreography by Sandrine Lescourant, performed live by dancers from the Kilaï Company. Violinist Julia Fischer joins the ONF and Măcelaru on November 19, 2026, performing as soloist on Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor. The program also includes Bedřich Smetana’s The Moldau, the Czech composer’s homage to the landscapes of his homeland, along with Barber’s Second Essay for Orchestra and Charlotte Sohy’s Symphony in C-sharp minor, “Grande Guerre,” a “rediscovered” work of French repertoire composed in the shadow of World War I.
On November 26, 2026 in Paris, Măcelaru leads the Orchestre National de France in the first performance of the program that will subsequently feature in the orchestra’s tour of Germany. The program opens with the Overture to Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict, followed by Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, featuring soloist Alexandra Conunova, and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 in G major. For the tour, beginning November 30, 2026 in Hamburg, Julia Fischer features as violin soloist on the same program. For the following performance on December 2, 2026 in Munich, the Saint-Saëns piece will be replaced on the program by Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, performed in a one-time appearance by cellist Daniel Müller-Schott alongside Fischer. The tour continues with the original program on December 3, 2026 in Stuttgart, and concludes on December 4, 2026 in Düsseldorf.
Returning to Paris in the new year, Măcelaru leads the ONF and Emanuel Ax in a performance of John Williams’ Piano Concerto on February 12, 2027. The program also includes John Adams’ The Chairman Dances and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major. As part of the ONF’s celebration of Beethoven in the bicentennial year of his death, Măcelaru returns on March 25, 2027 to conduct the orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major, paired on this program with Bartók’s The Wooden Prince. He and the orchestra are joined by pianist Simon Trpčeski on April 1, 2027 for a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The program also includes Berlioz’s Le carnaval romain, Stravinsky’s Le chant du rossignol, and Debussy’s La Mer.
In spring 2027, Măcelaru leads the ONF on a tour of China and South Korea, with a performance in China on April 16, 2027. The tour continues to South Korea with performances in Busan on April 27, Daejeon on April 28, and Seoul on April 29, April 30, and May 1, 2027. Program information and further details will be announced later in the season.
Returning to Paris, he conducts the ONF in a pair of concerts on June 25, 2027 in Paris and June 26, 2027 in Saint-Denis, France, both featuring Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 3 in D minor. The orchestra will be joined for both performances by mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and the Maîtrise and Choeur de Radio France (Radio France Children's Choir and Radio France Choir), directed by Marie-Noëlle Maerten and Edward Caswell.
In a grand farewell performance to close out his tenure as Music Director, Măcelaru will lead the Concert de Paris on July 14, 2027, conducting the ONF at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The program will be announced later in the season.
Beginning his second season as Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Măcelaru conducts the orchestra’s star-studded season-opening concerts, part of the CSO’s “Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Festival with Wynton Marsalis,” on October 2 and 3, 2026. Featuring the Midwest Premiere of Marsalis’s Symphony No. 5, “Liberty”, a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra co-commission, the October 2 program also showcases Nicola Benedetti as soloist on Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. On October 3, Benedetti performs as soloist on Marsalis’s Violin Concerto, which is paired on this program with Marsalis’s orchestral arrangement – reimagined in collaboration with Măcelaru and arranged by JLCO band member Sherman Irby – of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. On October 17 and 18, 2026, Măcelaru and the CSO welcome Alexandra Conunova in her CSO debut for a performance of Aram Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto in D minor. The program also includes Dorothy Howell’s Lamia – a darkly lyrical musical tale of a nymph and her fate at the hands of a jealous god – as well as Brahms’ choral works Nänie and Schicksalslied (“Song of Destiny”), performed with the May Festival Chorus, directed by Matthew Swanson.
Măcelaru next conducts the CSO on January 8 and 9, 2027, as the orchestra performs the U.S. Premiere of Mark Simpson’s Piano Concerto, paired with Florence Price’s Ethiopia’s Shadow in America and Brahms’ Symphony No. 3. He goes on to conduct the orchestra’s program in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 15 and 16, 2027, leading the CSO and saxophone soloist Steven Banks in a performance of Banks’ own composition Come As You Are, paired on this program with Jessie Montgomery’s Snapshots, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, and Duke Ellington’s Night Creature. On January 22 and 23, 2027, Măcelaru leads the orchestra in George Enescu’s Symphony No. 3 – the work’s first U.S. performance in nearly a century – along with Strauss’s Don Quixote featuring soloists Alisa Weilerstein and Christian Colberg.
Măcelaru returns to the CSO on March 5 and 6, 2027 for a program celebrating the enduring impact of female composers, featuring the World Premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s Concerto for Orchestra, a CSO co-commission from the current “Master of the King’s Music” to King Charles III. The program also includes Fanny Mendelssohn’s Overture in C, Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, featuring Alexandra Dariescu, and Emilie Mayer’s Faust Overture. On March 13 and 14, 2027, Măcelaru leads a performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion as the orchestra is joined by the May Festival Chorus and soloists Louise Alder, soprano, Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano, Nicholas Phan, tenor, Morgan Smith, baritone, and Nmon Ford, baritone.
On April 7, 2027, the CSO welcomes Lang Lang for a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, performed alongside Enescu’s Concert Overture on Popular Romanian Themes.
Returning to the CSO on May 8 and 9, 2027, Măcelaru conducts the orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 – the composer’s final completed symphony and a “farewell to life” exuding vulnerability, self-effacing acceptance, and finally peace. On May 14 and 15, 2027, he leads his final CSO program of the season as Ray Chen features as soloist on Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D Major, paired on this program with the Cincinnati premiere of Eunike Tanzil’s delicate new work Remembering and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10.
To begin an international schedule of guest engagements, Măcelaru conducts the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and pianist Mao Fujita for three dates in September 2026. Fujita performs as soloist on Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, which will be paired on this program with Missy Mazzoli’s Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) and Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. Performances will be held September 17 and 20, 2026, in Hamburg, and September 18, 2026, in Lübeck, Germany.
On October 23-24, 2026, Măcelaru returns to the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, conducting a program of Smetana’s The Moldau, Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, featuring soloist David Khrikuli, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3 in A minor.
In his return to the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra on November 5 and 6, 2026, he conducts Elgar’s oratorio The Dream of Gerontius, performed with the Oslo Philharmonic Choir and Bergen Philharmonic Choir, along with soloists Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano, Robin Tritschler, tenor, and Derek Welton, bass-baritone.
He goes on to lead the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester on a five-city tour of Italy and Spain, conducting a nightly program of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, featuring soloist Julia Hagen, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor. Performances will take place November 8, 2026 in Pordenone, Italy; November 11, 2026 in Soria, Spain; November 12, 2026 in Valencia, Spain; November 13, 2026 in Valladolid, Spain; and November 14, 2026 in Madrid, Spain.
On December 11 and 12, 2026, Măcelaru returns to the WDR Sinfonieorchester, where he served for four years as Chief Conductor and subsequently as Artistic Partner. For these concerts, he conducts a program of Strauss’s tone poem Don Quixote, featuring cellist Maximilian Hornung and violist Tomasz Neugebauer, along with Webern’s Passacaglia for Orchestra, and the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.
He goes on to conduct the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, leading a program of Silvestri’s Three Pieces for Strings, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, featuring soloist Colin Pütz, and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.
In his first guest engagement of the new year, Măcelaru returns to the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra for a pair of concerts on January 28 and 29, 2027, conducting a program of Arvo Pärt’s Symphony No. 3, Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, featuring soloist Riccardo Terzo, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor.
He returns for a second Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra engagement on February 4 and 5, 2027, as Emanuel Ax joins the orchestra for John Williams’ Piano Concerto, paired on this program with the Overture to Korngold’s The Sea Hawk and Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances.
On February 27, 2027, Măcelaru returns to the Dresden Philharmonic, where the performance opens with a new work composed by Măcelaru himself. The program also includes Joe Hisaishi’s Viola Saga, for Viola and Orchestra, featuring soloist Antoine Tamestit, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3 in A minor.
He returns to the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall on March 20, 2027, joined by Zlatomir Fung for a performance of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. Ligeti’s Concert Românesc and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra complete the program.
On May 27 and 28, 2027, Măcelaru returns to Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, which welcomes Julia Fischer for a performance of Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto in D minor, known for its fusion of late Romantic musical language with elements of Armenian folk music. This program also showcases a new work, Le réseau des reprises, by the orchestra’s Creative Chair, Dieter Ammann, juxtaposed with Brahms’ Symphony No. 3.
In his final guest engagement of the season, Măcelaru makes his return to the San Francisco Symphony on June 3, 4, and 5, 2027, leading an all-Stravinsky program highlighted by Stage Director Janni Younge’s production of The Firebird Suite – a visually striking presentation conjuring a South African motif from larger-than-life puppetry and African dance forms that Măcelaru led in its Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra premiere during the 2025-2026 season. Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and The Song of the Nightingale complete the program.