Conductor Cristian Macelaru Announces 2025-2026 Season Highlights

Inaugural Season as Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Sixth Season as Music Director of Orchestre National de France Brings
Tours in Europe and the United States, Including Carnegie Hall Date

Leads George Enescu International Festival as Artistic Director

Continues Titled Relationship with WDR Sinfonieorchester as Artistic Partner

Leads Interlochen Tour as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the
Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra

Guest Conducting Debuts with Münchner Philharmoniker and
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia,
Plus Returns to Gewandhausorchester Leipzig,
Philharmonia Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic,
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and San Francisco Symphony

Appearances with Yo-Yo Ma, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Lang Lang,
Daniil Trifonov, Joyce DiDonato, and More

         

“Macelaru strikes an ideal balance between energy and refinement.” – The Classic Review

www.macelaru.com

New York, NY (August 14, 2025) – With work declared a “master class” and delivered “with close attention and sharp intuition” (The Washington Post), GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor Cristian Macelaru announces a 2025-2026 season marking the start of his tenure as Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, among numerous other titled and guest engagements. In an inaugural CSO season blending cultural heritage and contemporary stories, Macelaru leads a slate of concerts highlighted by an appearance by Yo-Yo Ma and the orchestra’s first-ever celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In his role as Artistic Director of Romania’s George Enescu International Festival, he leads the second festival of his tenure, bringing some 4,000 of the world’s leading orchestral musicians, conductors, and soloists to Bucharest and cities around Romania. As Music Director of Orchestre National de France, he opens the orchestra’s season in Paris and leads a tour of the United States – highlighted by a much anticipated Carnegie Hall performance – as well as a tour of Romania, Slovakia, Austria, and the Czech Republic with pianist Rudolf Buchbinder.

In a continuing role with Cologne’s WDR Sinfonieorchester, where Macelaru served as Chief Conductor for the previous six seasons, he now takes on his first season as Artistic Partner, conducting the orchestra’s season-opening concert and select other performances including touring dates in Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Duisburg, Germany. As Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra, he also leads the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra in a four-city U.S. tour with Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua McClendon, featuring the world premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. His worldwide guest-conducting engagements bring him to debuts with the Münchner Philharmoniker and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, as well as return engagements with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Philharmonia Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and San Francisco Symphony. In the course of the season, he collaborates with such soloists as Lang Lang, Daniil Trifonov, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Rudolf Buchbinder, Joyce DiDonato, and more. He also begins a three-year tenure as a Distinguished Visiting Artist at Rice University in Houston, working with students through residencies in fall 2025 and spring 2026.

Macelaru begins his season following summer engagements including an appearance with Orchestre National de France at the BBC Proms; appearances at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, where he serves as Music Director; and an engagement at the Interlochen Arts Festival, where he collaborates with pianist Lang Lang and fellow conductor Louis Langrée in a concert performance and educational initiative.

As the season gets underway, Macelaru serves as Artistic Director of the George Enescu International Festival, running from August 24 to September 21, 2025, leading multiple concerts in Bucharest and the Romanian cities of Timi?oara and Cluj Napoca, as well as one performance in the Republic of Moldova. In the festival’s Opening Concert, he leads the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir in the world premiere of a piece commissioned for the occasion, Dan Dediu’s Concerto for Orchestra. He goes on to conduct WDR Sinfonieorchester in a performance of Strauss’s Salome on September 1, 2025. In the start of an Orchestre National de France tour of Central and Eastern Europe, he conducts the orchestra in its Enescu Festival debut on September 18 and 19, 2025. The first date spotlights Anne-Sophie Mutter as soloist on Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1, while the second features a performance of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F Major by Rudolf Buchbinder, who also performs the piece for all subsequent European tour dates. In this edition of the Enescu Festival, marking 70 years since the death of namesake composer George Enescu, Macelaru also conducts several of the great Romanian composer’s key works, including his Poème roumain Op. 1 in the festival’s Opening Concert and his Romanian Rhapsody No. 2 with Orchestre National de France.

Continuing his season with Orchestre National de France, Macelaru opens the orchestra’s Paris season with a performance on September 11, 2025, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth through a program featuring the composer’s La Valse and Piano Trio in A Minor (arr. Tortelier), paired with Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F Major – performed here also by Rudolf Buchbinder. Following ONF’s performances at the George Enescu International Festival, the orchestra continues on tour with Buchbinder to Bratislava, Slovakia, performing Gershwin’s Piano Concerto alongside Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Dvorák’s Rhapsody in A minor, and Ravel’s La Valse. They reprise the program on September 23, 2025 in Prague, Czech Republic. The tour concludes in Vienna, Austria on September 24, 2025, in a program pairing the Gershwin Concerto with works by Ravel. Returning to Paris, the orchestra is joined on September 27, 2025 by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, performing on Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The program also includes works by Enescu, Adès, and Dvorák. On October 9 and 10, 2025, ONF is featured at France’s Dijon Opera, joined by mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato on works by Alma Mahler, which are paired on this program with works by Strauss and Gustav Mahler. The orchestra performs in Paris on October 30, 2025, joined by violinist Randall Goosby on Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, which is featured alongside Elsa Barraine’s Symphony No. 2 and Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe: Suite No. 2. The orchestra remains in Paris for a concert on October 31, 2025, featuring Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor with pianist Marie-Ange Nguci, as well as works by Debussy and Beethoven.

From November 7 to 9, 2025, Orchestre National de France takes on a three-night tour in the United States with pianist Daniil Trifonov, culminating in an appearance at Carnegie Hall – the orchestra's first in ten years. The program for all three concerts highlights Trifonov on Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, performed alongside Elsa Barraine’s Symphony No. 2 and two works by Ravel: Concerto in G and Daphnis and Chloe: Suite No. 2. The tour begins November 7, 2025 at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA, followed by performances on November 8, 2025 at the Tilles Center in Brookville, NY and on November 9, 2025 at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Macelaru next conducts the Orchestre National de France on December 18, 2025 in Paris, leading a program of Rachmaninoff’s Les Cloches and Symphony No. 3. On February 8, 2026, he leads the orchestra in a program of premieres, conducting the world premieres of Ondrej Adámek’s Scherben – Concerto for Violin, featuring soloist Christian Tetzlaff, and of a new work for orchestra by Sofia Avramidou – both of these commissioned by Radio France. In addition, the program includes the French premieres of Georges Aperghis’ Étude V for Orchestra and Concerto for Accordion, featuring soloist Jean-Étienne Sotty. Clarinet soloist Patrick Messina joins Macelaru and the orchestra on March 21, 2026 for the world premiere of Tan Dun’s Clarinet Concerto, co-commissioned by Radio France along with the WDR Sinfonieorchester, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Chinese National Orchestra. The program also includes Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. From April 30 to May 7, 2026, ONF takes on a “Grand Tour” of France with violinist Frank Peter Zimmerman, bringing a program of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 to five performances in French cities. After performing the program in Paris on April 30, 2026, Macelaru and the performers bring the program to the cities of Brest on May 4, 2026, Vannes on May 5, 2026, and Caen on May 6, 2026, before closing with a second performance in Paris on May 7, 2026. Macelaru returns to Paris for his final ONF engagement on June 11, 2026, leading the orchestra in the world premiere of Thierry Escaich’s Concerto for Orchestra, a Radio France commission, performed alongside Escaich’s Five Verses on "Victimae paschali”, Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, and Anna Clyne’s Masquerade.

Macelaru makes his official debut as Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on October 3 and 4, 2025 with a program featuring pianist Hélène Grimaud on Gershwin’s Concerto in F Major, performed alongside Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Suite and Anna Clyne's Abstractions. On November 4, 2025, GRAMMY® Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma joins Macelaru and the CSO for Elgar’s Cello Concerto, paired on this program with Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1. On November 29 and 30, 2025, Macelaru leads a program centered on the cultural experiences, traditions and folklore that unite humanity, bringing together Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7; Copland’s Variations on a Shaker Melody from Appalachian Spring; Carlos Simon’s Tales: A Folklore Symphony; and PULSE, a new violin concerto by Lisa Bielawa performed by soloist Tessa Lark. Macelaru and the CSO present Handel’s Messiah on December 5 and 6, 2025, joined in this holiday tradition by soprano Lauren Snouffer, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, tenor Nicholas Phan, bass Jonathan Lemalu, and the May Festival Chorus under the direction of Matthew Swanson. Pianist Daniil Trifonov joins Macelaru and the CSO for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on January 10 and 11, 2026, in a program also featuring the U.S. premiere of Daníel Bjarnason’s complete Trilogy for Orchestra.

On January 16 and 17, 2026, Macelaru conducts the CSO in its first dedicated celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The program features CSO premieres of Wynton Marsalis’s Blues Symphony and Margaret Bonds’ Montgomery Variations, composed in the wake of the 1963 firebombing in Birmingham, Alabama. Bass Morris Robinson joins the orchestra as narrator in a special performance of Barber’s Adagio for Strings paired with original poetry by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Rita Dove.

In his final CSO dates of the season on April 24 and 25, 2026, Macelaru reunites with award-winning South African Director Janni Younge for a colorful multimedia production of Stravinsky’s The Firebird. First performed at Wolf Trap in 2016, this production transports the ballet to a contemporary South African setting starring Younge’s towering puppets, maneuvered by expert puppeteers and dancers.

As Artistic Partner with WDR Sinfonieorchester, Macelaru takes on select engagements beginning on September 5 and 6, 2025 in Cologne, where he conducts the orchestra’s season-opening production of Strauss’s Salome. He returns to Cologne on January 23 and 24, 2026 for performances with cellist Kian Soltani, conducting a program of Tchaikovsky’s Nocturne in D Minor for Cello and Orchestra and Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra, as well as Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor. Macelaru and the orchestra then take the same program on tour with Soltani, performing January 28, 2026 in Frankfurt; January 30, 2026 in Hamburg; and February 1, 2026 in Duisburg, Germany. In his final WDR Sinfonieorchester engagement of the season, Macelaru leads the orchestra in its season-closing performances on June 27, 2026 in Cologne and June 28, 2026 in Bad Kissingen, Germany. Violinist Isabelle Faust joins the orchestra for a program of Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 2 in C-sharp Minor and Enescu’s Symphony No. 3 in C Major.

Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Macelaru leads the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra on tour with Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua McClendon in March 2026, collaborating with major orchestras in four U.S. Cities. Interlochen musicians will begin their tour in Interlochen before traveling to perform side-by-side with musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The tour highlights the world premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, alongside Ives’ Symphony No. 4 and Reena Esmail’s RE | Member. The program is first performed on the Interlochen campus in Michigan on March 7, 2026, followed by dates at Detroit’s Max M. Fisher Music Center on March 10, 2026; Philadelphia’s Marian Anderson Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on March 13, 2026; and Boston’s Symphony Hall on March 15, 2026.

Among his guest engagements for the 2025-2026 season, Macelaru makes his debut with the Münchner Philharmoniker on October 18 and 19, 2025, leading the orchestra and piano soloist Rudolf Buchbinder in a performance of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, along with Jennifer Higdon’s Fanfare Ritmico and Copland’s Symphony No. 3. 

He also debuts this season with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome on June 4 to 6, 2026, conducting a program of Barber’s Symphony No. 1, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, and Ravel’s Bolero.

In return engagements, Macelaru conducts Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich on October 23 and 24, 2025, joined by clarinetist Martin Fröst for a performance of Anna Clyne’s Weathered for Clarinet and Orchestra, paired on this program with Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. He appears with the Czech Philharmonic on March 25, 26, and 27, 2026, leading a program of Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto in D, featuring Nicola Benedetti, along with Bohuslav Martinu’s Symphony No.1. On April 9 and 10, 2026, he returns to Gewandhausorchester Leipzig for a program featuring violist Antoine Tamestit on Schnittke’s Viola Concerto, paired with Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 and Honegger’s Symphony No. 3 “Liturgique.” Joined again by Nicola Benedetti, he returns to London’s Philharmonia Orchestra on April 19, 2026 for a performance of Elgar’s Violin Concerto, Chaminade’s Callirhoë Suite, and Debussy’s La Mer. His final guest engagement of the season brings him to the San Francisco Symphony for the world premiere of an SF Symphony-commissioned work by Tyler Taylor—the 2024 winner of the SF Symphony’s Emerging Black Composers Project—along with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring Simon Trpceski, and Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9.

Cristian Macelaru 2025-2026 Season Calendar

Wednesday, July 23, 2025 at 7:30pm
BBC Proms with Orchestre National de France
Royal Albert Hall | London, UK
Link: www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2025

Randall Goosby, violin
Orchestre National de France

Program:
Maurice Ravel – Rapsodie espagnole
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges – Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8

Saturday, July 26; Tuesday, July 29; Saturday, August 9; Sunday, August 10, 2025
Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium | Santa Cruz, CA
Link: cabrillomusic.org/2025-season/

Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 7:30pm
Interlochen Arts Festival: Lang Lang performs Gershwin
Kresge Auditorium | Interlochen, MI
Link: interlochen.org/events/lang-lang-performs-rhapsody-in-blue-2025-08-02

Cristian Macelaru, Louis Langrée, conductors
Lang Lang, piano
World Youth Symphony Orchestra

Program:
George Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue
John Williams – Selections from his film scores

Sunday, August 24, 2025 at 8:00pm
Opening Concert – Enescu Festival
Grand Palace Hall | Bucharest, Romania
Link: www.festivalenescu.ro/en/george-enescu-international-festival/concert-schedule/opening-concert-of-the-george-enescu-international-festival-1747106927

Nemanja Radulovic, violin
George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir

Program:
Dan Dediu – Concerto for Orchestra [World Premiere]
Aram Khachaturian – Violin Concerto in D minor
George Enescu – Poème roumain, Op. 1

Friday, September 5 & Saturday, September 6, 2025 at 8:00pm
WDR Sinfonieorchester Season Opening
Kölner Philharmonie | Cologne, Germany
Link: www1.wdr.de/orchester-und-chor/sinfonieorchester/konzerte/termine/salome-102.html

WDR Sinfonieorchester

Program:
Richard Strauss – Salome

Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France – Season Opening
Auditorium de la Maison de la Radio | Paris, France
Link: maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/gershwin-ravel-buchbinder-macelaru?s=1067374

Program:
Maurice Ravel – La Valse
George Gershwin – Piano Concerto in F major
Maurice Ravel – Trio for piano and orchestra [Tortelier version]

Tuesday, September 16 & Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Cristian Macelaru with the Romanian Chamber Orchestra 
Organ Hall| Chi?inau, Moldova

Program:
Toma Verly – Romanian Dances Suite [World Premiere]
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Vn. concerto Op. 80
Felix Mendelssohn – Simf. no 3 în A minor, Scottish, Op.56

Ioana Cristina Goicea, violin

Wednesday, September 17, 2025 at 7:00pm
Cristian Macelaru with the Romanian Chamber Orchestra 
Sala Capitol| Timi?oara, Romania 
Link: www.myticket.ro/evenimente/31120/festivalul-international-george-enescu-la-timisoara-romanian-chamber-orchestra-dirijor-cristian-macelaru-solista-ioana-cristina-goicea-17-septembrie-2025-sala-capitol-timisoara.html

Program:
Toma VerlyTBC – Romanian Dances Suite [World Premiere] 
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Vn. concerto Op. 80
Felix Mendelssohn – Simf. no 3 în A minor, Scottish, Op.56

Ioana Cristina Goicea, violin

Thursday, September 18, 2025 at 7:30pm
Orchestre National de France at Enescu Festival
Grand Palace Hall | Bucharest, Romania
Link: festivalenescu.ro/en/event/onf-tour–1777565625

Program:
Thomas Adès – Air for Violin and Orchestra
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 1
Maurice Ravel – Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2

Friday, September 19, 2025 at 7:30pm
Orchestre National de France at Enescu Festival – Tour Concert #2
Grand Palace Hall | Bucharest, Romania
Link: festivalenescu.ro/en/george-enescu-international-festival/concert-schedule/orchestre-national-de-france-1777579739

Program:
George Enescu – Romanian Rhapsody No. 2 in D major, Op. 11
George Gershwin – Piano Concerto in F
Maurice Ravel – Piano Trio in A minor (orch. Yan?Pascal?Tortelier)
Maurice Ravel – La Valse, M. 72

Sunday, September 21, 2025 at 7:30pm
Orchestre National de France / Bratislava Festival
Slovak Philharmonic | Bratislava, Slovakia
Link: maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/tournee-de-lorchestre-national-de-france-en-roumanie-slovaquie-republique-tcheque-1?s=1085647

Program:
George Enescu – Romanian Rhapsody No. 1
George Gershwin – Piano Concerto in F major
Antonín Dvorák – Rhapsody in A minor
Maurice Ravel – La Valse

Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at 7:30pm
Orchestre National de France at Dvorák Prague International Music Festival
Dvorák Hall | Prague, Czech Republic
Link: maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/tournee-de-lorchestre-national-de-france-en-roumanie-slovaquie-republique-tcheque-2?s=1085655

Program:
George Enescu – Romanian Rhapsody No. 1
George Gershwin – Piano Concerto in F major
Antonín Dvorák – Rhapsody in A minor
Maurice Ravel – La Valse

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 at 7:30pm
Orchestre National de France – Tour Finale
Musikverein | Vienna, Austria
Link: maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/tournee-de-lorchestre-national-de-france-en-roumanie-slovaquie-republique-tcheque-3?s=1085663

Program:
George Gershwin – Piano Concerto in F major
Maurice Ravel – La Valse
Maurice Ravel – Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2

Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 8:00pm 
Orchestre National de France in Paris
Maison de la Radio et de la Musique – Auditorium | Paris, France
Link: maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/anne-sophie-mutter-mozart-enescu?s=1076200

Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Orchestre National de France

Program:
George Enescu – Romanian Rhapsody No. 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 1
Thomas Adès – Air
Antonín Dvorák – Rhapsody in A minor
George Enescu – Romanian Rhapsody No. 2

Friday, October 3 & Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 7:30pm 
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra – Cristian Macelaru’s Debut as Music Director
Cincinnati Music Hall | Cincinnati, OH
Link: www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2526-cso-season/cristian-mcelarus-debut/

Hélène Grimaud, piano
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra 

Program:
Anna Clyne – Abstractions
George Gershwin – Piano Concerto in F major
Richard Strauss – Der Rosenkavalier Suite

Thursday, October 9 & Friday, October 10, 2025 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France at Dijon Opera
Dijon Opera | Dijon, France
Link: maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/le-grand-tour-joyce-didonato-dijon?s=1085470

Joyce?DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
Orchestre National de France

Program:
Richard Strauss – Death & Transfiguration
Alma Mahler – 5 Lieder (orch. Jorma Panula)
Gustav Mahler – Rückert-Lieder
Richard Strauss – Don Juan

Sunday, October 18 & Monday, October 19, 2025 at 8:00pm 
Münchner Philharmoniker
Gasteig Philharmonie | Munich, Germany
Link: mphil.de/en/concerts-tickets/calendar/concerts/higdon-gershwin-copland-2025-10-19-4845

Rudolf?Buchbinder, piano
Münchner Philharmoniker

Program:
Jennifer Higdon – Fanfare Ritmico
George Gershwin – Piano Concerto in F (Buchbinder)
Aaron Copland – Symphony No. 3

Thursday, October 23 & Friday, October 24, 2025 at 7:30pm
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Tonhalle | Zürich, Switzerland
Link: www.tonhalle-orchester.ch/en/concerts/kalender/cristian-macelaru-martin-froest-2007147/

Program:
Anna Clyne – Weathered for Clarinet and Orchestra
Sergei Prokofiev – Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op.?100

Thursday, October 30, 2025 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France in Paris
Maison de la Radio et de la Musique – Auditorium | Paris, France
Link: maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/tchaikovski-concerto-pour-violon-randall-goosby?s=1081037

Randall Goosby, violin
Orchestre National de France

Program:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto
Elsa Barraine – Symphony No. 2
Maurice Ravel – Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2

Friday, October 31, 2025 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France – Halloween Concert
Maison de la Radio et de la Musique – Auditorium | Paris, France
Link: maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/beethoven-symphonie-heroique-nguci-macelaru?s=1081044

Program:
Claude Debussy – Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Camille Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”

Tuesday, November 4, 2025 at 7:30pm
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra – Yo-Yo Ma Plays Elgar
Music Hall | Cincinnati, OH
Link: www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2526-cso-season/yo-yo-ma-plays-elgar/

Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Program:
Johannes Brahms – Tragic Overture
Edward Elgar – Cello Concerto (Yo-Yo?Ma)
George Enescu – Romanian Rhapsody No. 1

Friday, November 7, 2025 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France – U.S. Tour
Mechanics Hall | Worcester, MA
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/tournee-de-lorchestre-national-de-france-aux-etats-unis-worcester?s=1085699

Program:
Elsa Barraine – Symphony No. 2
Camille Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op.?22
Maurice Ravel – Concerto in G
Maurice Ravel – Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2

Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France – U.S. Tour
Tilles Center | Brookville, NY 
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/tournee-de-lorchestre-national-de-france-aux-etats-unis-greenvale?s=1085707

Program:
Elsa Barraine – Symphony No. 2
Camille Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op.?22
Maurice Ravel – Concerto in G
Maurice Ravel – Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2

Sunday, November 9, 2025 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France – U.S. Tour, Led by Cristian Macelaru
Carnegie Hall | New York, NY 
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/tournee-de-lorchestre-national-de-france-aux-etats-unis-new-york?s=1085714

Program:
Elsa Barraine – Symphony No. 2
Camille Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op.?22
Maurice Ravel – Concerto in G
Maurice Ravel – Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2

Saturday, November 29 at 7:30pm & Sunday, November 30, 2025 at 2:00pm
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra – Dvorák Symphony No. 7
Music Hall | Cincinnati, OH
Link: www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2526-cso-season/dvoak-symphony-no.-7/

Tessa Lark, violin
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Program:
Carlos Simon – Tales: A Folklore Symphony
Lisa Bielawa – PULSE (co-commission; violin & orchestra)
Aaron Copland – Variations on a Shaker Melody
Antonín Dvorák – Symphony No. 7

Friday, December 5 & Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 7:30pm
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra – Handel’s Messiah
Music Hall | Cincinnati, OH
Link: www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2526-cso-season/handels-messiah/

Lauren Snouffer, soprano
Sasha Cooke, mezzo soprano
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Jonathan Lemalu, bass
May Festival Chorus
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Program:
George Frideric Handel – Messiah 

Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France – Winter Gala
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées | Paris, France
Link: maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/les-cloches-symphonie-ndeg3-marina-rebeka?s=1081241

Marina Rebeka, soprano
Orchestre National de France

Program:
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Les Cloches
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Symphony No. 3

Saturday, January 10 at 7:30pm & Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 2:00pm
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra – Trifonov Plays Beethoven
Music Hall | Cincinnati, OH
Link: www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2526-cso-season/trifonov-plays-beethoven/

Daniil Trifonov, piano 
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 2
Daníel Bjarnason – I Want to Be Alive – Trilogy for Orchestra [Co-Commission]

Friday, January 16 at 11:00 AM & Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 7:30pm
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra –- American Voices 
Music Hall | Cincinnati, OH
Link: www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2526-cso-season/american-voices/

Morris Robinson, narrator and bass
Rita Dove, poet
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Program:
Margaret Bonds Select Movements from Montgomery Variations 
    I. Decision
    II. Prayer Meeting
    III. March 
    VII. Benediction
Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings with poetry commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Wynton Marsalis Select movements from Blues Symphony  
     II. Swimming in Sorrow
     III. Reconstruction Rag 
     IV. Danzón y Mambo, Choro y Samba

Friday, January 23 & Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 8:00pm
WDR Sinfonieorchester
Philharmonie Cologne | Cologne, Germany
Link: www.koelner-philharmonie.de/en/programm/liebeserklarung-macelaru-mahlers-funfte/4866

Program: 
Tchaikovsky – Nocturne
Tchaikovsky – Rococo Variations
Mahler – Symphony No. 5

Wednesday, January 28–Friday, January 30 & Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 8:00pm
WDR Sinfonieorchester
Elbe Philharmonic Grand Hall | Frankfurt, Hamburg
Link: www.elbphilharmonie.de/en/whats-on/wdr-sinfonieorchester-kian-soltani-cristian-macelaru/23108

Sunday, February 8, 2026 at 6:30pm
Orchestre National de France
Maison de la Radio et de la Musique - Auditorium | Paris, France
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/concert-de-cloture-etudes-concerto-pour-accordeon-tetzlaff-sotty?s=1082304

Program:
Georges Aperghis – Étude III for Orchestra, Sous-titre, Étude V for Orchestra [French Premiere]
Ondrej Adámek – Scherben, Concerto for Violin [World Premiere, Commissioned by Radio France]
Sofia Avramidou – New Work for Orchestra [World Premiere, Commissioned by Radio France] 
Georges Aperghis – Concerto for Accordion [French Premiere]

Saturday, March 7, 2026
Interlochen Tour
Corson Auditorium | Interlochen, Michigan
Link: www.interlochen.org/news/interlochen-announces-collaboration-boston-symphony-orchestra-detroit-symphony-orchestra-and

Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Interlochen Tour
Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center | Detroit, Michigan
Link: www.dso.org/events-and-tickets/events/25-26-winter/imagine-us-joshua-mcclendon-and-interlochen-center-for-the-arts-celebrate-america-at-250

Friday, March 13, 2026
Interlochen Tour
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Link: philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org/tickets-and-events/2025-26-season/yo-yo-ma-and-interlochen-center-for-the-arts

Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 2:00pm
Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra, with Yo-Yo Ma, led by Cristian Macelaru
Symphony Hall | Boston, Massachusetts
Link: www.bso.org/events/interlochen-arts-academy-with-yo-yo-ma?performance=2026-03-15-14:00

Program:
Charles Ives – Symphony No. 4
Reena Esmail: – RE | Member
Wynton Marsalis – Concerto for Cello and Orchestra [World Premiere]

Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France
Maison de la Radio et de la Musique - Auditorium | Paris, France
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/rachmaninov-tan-dun-messina-macelaru?s=1084538

Program:
Tan Dun – Clarinet Concerto [Commissioned by Radio France, WDR Cologne Symphony Orchestra,  Philadelphia Orchestra, Chinese National Orchestra; World Premiere] 
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Symphony No. 2

Wednesday, March 25–Friday, March 27, 2026 at 7:30pm 
Czech Philharmonic 
Dvorák Hall | Prague, Czech Republic
Link: www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/event/33743-cristian-macelaru-czech-philharmonic/?utm_medium=display&utm_source=bachtrack.com&utm_campaign=listinglink

Program:
Wynton Marsalis – Violin Concerto in D
Bohuslav Martinu – Symphony No.1

Thursday, April 9 & Friday April 10, 2026 at 7:30pm 
Leipzig Gewandhaus
Gewandhaus zu Leipzig | Leipzig, Germany
Link: www.gewandhausorchester.de/en/event/grosses-concert-9348/

Program:
Alfred Schnittke – Viola Concerto
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 25 in G minor K. 183
Arthur Honegger – Symphony No. 3 'Liturgique'

Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 3:00pm 
Philharmonia Orchestra
Royal Festival Hall | London, UK  
Link: philharmonia.co.uk/whats-on/nicola-benedetti-plays-elgar/

Program:
Elgar – Violin Concerto
Chaminade – Callirhoë Suite
Debussy – La Mer

Friday, April 24 & Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 7:30pm 
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra – Stravinsky’s Firebird
Music Hall | Cincinnati, OH
Link: www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2526-cso-season/stravinskys-firebird/

Janni Younge, director
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Program:
Gustav Mahler – Totenfeier 
Igor Stravinsky – The Firebird  

Thursday, April 30; Monday, May 4–Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France Tours
House of Radio and Music - Auditorium | Paris, France
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/beethoven-concerto-pour-violon-frank-peter-zimmermann?s=1084753

The Quartz | Brest, France
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/le-grand-tour-brest?s=1085539#content-page
The Gulf Scenes | Vannes, France
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/le-grand-tour-vannes?s=1085546

Caen Theatre | Caen, France
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/le-grand-tour-caen?s=1085553

House of Radio and Music - Auditorium | Paris, France
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/beethoven-concerto-pour-violon-frank-peter-zimmermann-0?s=1084759

Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin Concerto
Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 1

Friday, May 22–Sunday, May 24, 2026
San Francisco Symphony
Davies Hall | San Francisco, CA
Link: www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2025-26/DVORAK-NEW-WORLD

Program:
Tyler Taylor – New Work [SF Symphony Commission and World Premiere] 
Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 1
Dvorák – Symphony No. 9, From the New World

Thursday, June 4–Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 8:00pm
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia 
Santa Cecilia Hall | Rome, Italy
Link: santacecilia.it/en/concerto/gershwin-rhapsody-in-blue-macelaru-gerstein/?replica=897

Program:
Barber – Symphony No. 1
Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue 
Gershwin – An American in Paris
Ravel – Bolero

Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 8:00pm
Orchestre National de France
Maison de la Radio et de la Musique - Auditorium | Paris, France
Link: www.maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr/evenement/elgar-concerto-pour-violoncelle-kian-soltani?s=1082407

Program:
Thierry Escaich – Five Verses on "Victimae paschali"
Edward Elgar – Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85
Anna Clyne – Masquerade
Thierry Escaich – Concerto for Orchestra [World Premiere, Commissioned by Radio France]

Saturday, June 27 & Sunday, June 28, 2026 at 8:00pm
WDR Sinfonieorchester (Season Closing) 
Philharmonie Cologne | Cologne, Germany
Link: www1.wdr.de/orchester-und-chor/sinfonieorchester/konzerte/termine/universen-macelaru-und-isabelle-faust-100.html

Saturday, June 27 & Sunday, June 28, 2026 at 8:00pm
WDR Sinfonieorchester (Season Closing) 
Max Littman Hall | Bad KIssingen, Germany
Link: www1.wdr.de/orchester-und-chor/sinfonieorchester/konzerte/termine/gastspiel-168.html

About Cristian Macelaru
GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor Cristian Macelaru is Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Orchestre National de France, Artistic Director of the George Enescu International Festival and Competition, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Music Director and Conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Distinguished Visiting Artist at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He also serves as Artistic Partner of the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne, where he was Chief Conductor from the 2019/20 through 2024/25 seasons.

Macelaru’s 2025/26 guest engagements include debuts with the Münchner Philharmoniker and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, as well as returns with Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Czech Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony.

Macelaru’s previous seasons include European engagements with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Concertgebouworkest, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Budapest Festival Orchestra, and Wiener Symphoniker. In North America, he has led the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra. He is equally at home as a conductor of opera, with career highlights including productions of Don Giovanni with the Houston Grand Opera and Madama Butterfly with Opera Na?ionala Bucure?ti.

In 2020, Macelaru received a GRAMMY® Award for conducting the Decca Classics recording of Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. His highly anticipated recording of George Enescu’s complete symphonic works with the Orchestre National de France was released in April 2024 on Deutsche Grammophon. September 2025 marks the release of Macelaru’s and the Orchestre National de France’s Ravel Paris 2025 album on the naïve label, featuring the symphonic works of Maurice Ravel in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

*Photo Credit: Ben Knabe

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