Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Appoints Next Music Director

The GRAMMY Award-winning conductor Cristian Măcelaru will begin his tenure as of the 2024/25 season

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has appointed conductor Cristian Mӑcelaru as the 14th music director in its 129-year history. To succeed Louis Langrée, who will become music director laureate, Mӑcelaru will begin an initial five-year term in the 2024/25 season. He will serve as the music director designate in the first year.

Co-chaired by Peter Landgren and Sheila Williams, the Music Director Search Committee comprised CSO musicians, CSO Board members, and volunteer leaders from the community.

“Cristian Mӑcelaru is intense in terms of his work and passionate about music and its ability to transcend almost any boundary,” Landgren and Williams said in the press release. “His passion is tempered by an open and adventurous spirit that radiates through every interaction whether on or off the stage. There is a palpable warmth whenever he is on the podium, and that energy has lasting power that remains with you long after a performance.”

Mӑcelaru first conducted the CSO for Cincinnati Opera’s production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore in 2015. He made his CSO concert debut the following year, before returning on multiple occasions — most recently in February 2024 leading a program including Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto, featuring VC Artist Kian Soltani.

Currently, he serves as music director of the Orchestre National de France, and chief conductor of Cologne’s WDR Sinfonieorchester, where he will serve through the 2024/25 season and continue as artistic partner for the following year. Recently, he completed a tour in China with the WDR Sinfonieorchester and will take Orchestre National de France on tour to South Korea and China in 2025.

Additionally, he has served as the artistic director and principal conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, where he has mentored many young artists. Also the artistic director of the George Enescu Festival and Competition, he has collaborated with soloists including Yo-Yo Ma, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Itzhak Perlman, Daniil Trifonov, Julia Fischer, and Renaud Capuçon. 

A champion of new music, Mӑcelaru has commissioned premieres from over 50 composers, including Wynton Marsalis, Tan Dun, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jennifer Higdon, Jake Heggie, Nico Muhly, Sean Shepherd, and Gabriella Smith. His discography appears on the Deutsche Grammophon, Decca Classics, Sony Classical, and Warner Classics record labels; in 2019, he won a GRAMMY Award for his conducting Marsalis’ Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti and The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Born in Romania and educated in the U.S., Mӑcelaru attended the Interlochen Arts Academy, the University of Miami, and Rice University, before becoming a naturalized American citizen in 2019. As CSO’s next music director, he will join acclaimed conductors who have held the role including Eugène Ysaÿe, Fritz Reiner, Eugene Goossens, Thomas, Michael Gielen, Jesús López Cobos, and Paavo Järvi.

As music director designate, Mӑcelaru will conduct the CSO on February 8 and 9, 2025 in Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, Marsalis’ “Southwestern Shakedown” from Blues Symphony, and Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 2 and Chausson’s Poème, both featuring violinist Randall Goosby.

“We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Cristian Mӑcelaru as the Orchestra’s next Music Director,” said CSO’s Board Chair Dianne Rosenberg. “In addition to his exceptional artistry, collaborative spirit and strong leadership of orchestras around the world, including in the United States, Cristian understands and embraces the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s vision to become the most relevant orchestra in America. We look forward to the CSO’s bright future under Cristian’s leadership.”

“I am overjoyed and humbled by the opportunity … [the CSO] has consistently upheld a well-proven standard of artistic excellence and innovation, in combination with a unique focus on the community it serves,” said Mӑcelaru. “The invitation to lead the superb musicians who form this Orchestra, building an even stronger legacy together, is only enhanced by the warmth and closeness of the community that I’ve experienced in Cincinnati. It is with deep respect to my predecessors and commitment to the Orchestra’s future that I look forward to sharing the wonderful music we make with the greater Cincinnati community and the world.”

“Mӑcelaru is an extraordinary musician, conductor and community builder who understands the power of music to change lives,” added CSO’s president and CEO Jonathan Martin. “It’s been inspiring to witness his talent and immediate connection with our musicians and audiences, and there is no question in my mind that Cristian will build upon the great work of his predecessors and take the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra into an exciting new era of music-making and international stature while maintaining a deep commitment to serving the entire Cincinnati community.”

“Each interaction with Cristian, on and off the stage, has been warm and collaborative, like reuniting with an old friend,” added Stefani Matsuo, CSO’s concertmaster and one of five musicians on the Music Director Search Committee. “He has a deep knowledge of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s legacy and a clear vision for music and its place in a vibrant arts community like Cincinnati’s,” Matsuo continued. “He stretches us as musicians, drawing out new dimensions of sounds and textures, and inspires us as people. There’s a genuine admiration and mutual respect between the CSO musicians and Cristian, and it’s clear we are going to be great partners in this next chapter of our story.”