Măcelaru puts personal stamp on CSO’s 2026-27 season

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra unveiled its 2026–27 season on Thursday, marking the second year of Music Director Cristian Măcelaru’s tenure.

The lineup reflects Măcelaru’s “expansive artistic vision: a deep commitment to collaboration with the world’s foremost artists, new works by living composers,” according to the CSO. For Măcelaru, known fondly as “Cristi” to his colleagues, the season is also a chance to celebrate the music of fellow Romanian composer George Enescu, whose artistry has profoundly influenced his career.

Măcelaru will lead much of the season, which includes symphonic masterworks, contemporary works, the world premiere of a new composition by Errollyn Wallen – appointed Master of the King’s Music by King Charles III in 2024 – and collaborations across classical and jazz traditions. The season at Music Hall opens Oct. 2-4 with a residency featuring Măcelaru’s longtime friend and collaborator Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Marsalis, who announced in January that he is stepping down as the group’s artistic director after nearly 40 years, will appear in one of his farewell performances in the role. The residency features violinist Nicola Benedetti performing Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto and Marsalis’ Symphony No. 5, Liberty, co-commissioned by the CSO to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The program also includes Marsalis’ Violin Concerto and a jazz-infused reinterpretation of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” The residency concludes with a CSO presentation of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Marsalis.

The “extraordinary depth brought to our stage in 2026–27 by artists such as Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Lang Lang and Nicola Benedetti,” Măcelaru said, reflects the CSO’s commitment to ensuring “Cincinnati remains a city where the arts flourish and where symphonic music is embraced with curiosity, passion and pride.” 

The rest of the season

Other scheduled CSO performances during 2026 and 2027 include:

• Songs of Destiny (Oct. 17-18): Howell’s “Lamia,” Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto with Alexandra Conunova, and Brahms’ “Nänie and Schicksalslied” with the May Festival Chorus.
• Cristi Conducts Brahms Symphony No. 3 (Jan. 8-9, 2027): Florence Price’s “Ethiopia’s Shadow in America,” the U.S. premiere of Mark Simpson’s Piano Concerto with Víkingur Ólafsson, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 3.
• Come As You Are (Jan. 15-16): Jessie Montgomery’s “Snapshots,” Steven Banks’ “Come As You Are,” Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story” and Duke Ellington’s “Night Creature.”
• Don Quixote & Enescu Symphony No. 3 (Jan. 22-23): Strauss’ “Don Quixote” with cellist Alisa Weilerstein and CSO Principal Viola Christian Colberg, and Enescu’s Symphony No. 3 with the May Festival Chorus.
• Extraordinary Women (March 5-6): Overtures by Fanny Mendelssohn and Emilie Mayer, Clara Schumann’s piano concerto with Alexandra Dariescu, and the debut of Wallen’s concerto for orchestra.
• Bach St. Matthew Passion (March 13-14): Featuring soloists Louise Alder, Karen Cargill, Nicholas Phan, Morgan Smith and the May Festival Chorus, led by Matthew Swanson.
• Lang Lang Plays Rachmaninoff (April 7): Enescu’s “Concert Overture on Popular Romanian Themes” and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
• Cristi Conducts Mahler Symphony No. 9 (May 8-9): Mahler’s final symphonic masterpiece.
• Ray Chen, Korngold & Shostakovich (May 14-15): Eunike Tanzil’s Remembering, Korngold’s Violin Concerto with Ray Chen, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10.

Măcelaru voiced particular pride in being able to offer performances that focus on both new and rediscovered repertoire. He specifically highlighted Enescu’s Symphony No. 3, which he described as a “visionary work” still awaiting widespread recognition it deserves more than 100 years after its world premiere. The CSO’s upcoming performance of the work will be the first time it’ll be performed in the U.S. in nearly a century.

“Cristian Măcelaru has brought extraordinary clarity of vision to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,” said Robert McGrath, president and CEO of CSO and Cincinnati Pops. In just his sophomore season, he is “deepening our artistic excellence while expanding our reach – championing new voices, celebrating global traditions and strengthening our connection to this community.” 

“(Măcelaru’s) leadership is shaping a dynamic and inspiring future for the CSO.”

A showcase of world-class talent

Beyond presenting a wide range of musical styles and repertoire, the season will bring several of the world’s leading performers to the CSO stage.

Several artists make their CSO debut during the 2026-27 season, including pianists Alexandra Dariescu, Sunwook Kim and Isata Kanneh-Mason; vocalists Louise Alder, Karen Cargill, and Morgan Smith; CSO Principal Trumpet Anthony Limoncelli; violinist Alexandra Conunova; vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth; and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Returning soloists include Conrad Tao, Steven Banks, Lang Lang, Ray Chen, Gil Shaham, Alisa Weilerstein, Víkingur Ólafsson, Leila Josefowicz, Nicholas Phan, and CSO principals Dwight Parry and Christian Colberg.

Four conductors will make CSO debuts, including three women previously mentored by Măcelaru. Philippe Jordan leads an all-Richard Strauss program in November 2026; Gemma New debuts in December with works by Grenfell, Mozart, Prokofiev and Haydn; Delyana Lazarova conducts a program featuring pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and the Cincinnati premiere of Dobrinka Tabakova’s “Orpheus’ Comet” in April; and Marta Gardolińska presents works by Mélanie Bonis, Szymanowski and Rachmaninoff later that month.

Full program details are available on the CSO website.

“As (CSO) music director, I see each season as an invitation to deepen our connection to composers we know and love while discovering voices that may be new to us,” Măcelaru said.