Cristian Măcelaru

About Cristian

Cristian Măcelaru is a GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor widely admired for a rare fusion ofinterpretive rigor, emotional intelligence, and generosity of spirit. Throughout his career, Măcelaruhas demonstrated a profound commitment to strengthening cultural institutions, educating thenext generation of artists, and forging meaningful bonds between music and community, whileserving as an ambassador for the classical art form worldwide.Cristian Măcelaru is a GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor widely admired for a rare fusion of interpretive rigor, emotional intelligence, and generosity of spirit. Throughout his career, Măcelaru has demonstrated a profound commitment to strengthening cultural institutions, educating the next generation of artists, and forging meaningful bonds between music and community, while serving as an ambassador for the classical art form worldwide.

Măcelaru is Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre National de France, Artistic Director of the George Enescu Festival and Competition, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director and Conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

After an acclaimed inaugural season featuring multiple sold-out programs, Măcelaru leads anambitious second season with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, featuring premieres byErrollyn Wallen and Mark Simpson, plus works by Jessie Montgomery, Steven Banks, and EunikeTanzil—reflecting his lasting commitment to programming overlooked masterworks andchampioning the work of contemporary composers.After an acclaimed inaugural season featuring multiple sold-out programs, Măcelaru leads an ambitious second season with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, featuring premieres by Errollyn Wallen and Mark Simpson, plus works by Jessie Montgomery, Steven Banks, and Eunike Tanzil—reflecting his lasting commitment to programming overlooked masterworks and championing the work of contemporary composers.

The 2026/27 season also marks his seventh and final season as Music Director of the Orchestre National de France, concluding his tenure by conducting the Concert de Paris at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. As Music Director, Măcelaru has greatly strengthened the orchestra’s artistic profile by focusing on signature French repertoire and expanding its international presence, conducting recordings of works by French composers including Ravel and the once overlooked Elsa Barraine.

Highlights of Măcelaru’s 2026/27 guest-conducting schedule include returns to Aspen Music Festival, Grafenegg Festival, the BBC Proms, Oslo Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and San Francisco Symphony. Măcelaru also embarks on a tour with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester across Italy and Spain.

Măcelaru appears regularly with many of the world’s leading orchestras. In Europe, his collaborations have included the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden, Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wiener Symphoniker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. In North America, he has conducted the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra. His operatic work includes acclaimed productions at major houses, including Houston Grand Opera and Opera Națională București.

Across his titled roles, Măcelaru has consistently elevated artistic standards while expanding audience engagement. He led the ONF at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, before a global audience estimated at 1.5 billion people. A passionate champion of contemporary music, he has commissioned and premiered works by more than 52 composers, including Wynton Marsalis, Tan Dun, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jennifer Higdon, Jake Heggie, Nico Muhly, Sean Shepherd, and Gabriella Smith.

An accomplished recording artist, Măcelaru received a GRAMMY®Award for his Decca Classics recording of Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti and The Philadelphia Orchestra. In addition to his recordings with the Orchestre National de France, his recent releases include George Enescu’s Symphonies Nos. 1–3 and Romanian Rhapsodies on Deutsche Grammophon, which won the Diapason d’Or of the Year. Upcoming releases include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Orchestre National de France on Naïve Records, and Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin and Concerto for Orchestra with the WDR Sinfonieorchester on Linn Records.

Born in Timișoara, Romania, Măcelaru moved to the United States at age 17 to attend Interlochen Arts Academy. He studied at the University of Miami and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and further refined his craft at the Tanglewood Music Center and Aspen Music Festival. His international career gained early prominence when he stepped in for Pierre Boulez with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is a recipient of both the Solti Emerging Conductor Award and the Solti Conducting Award.