Romanian to Conduct French National Orchestra at Paris Olympics

Cristian Macelaru, artistic director of the “George Enescu” International Competition and Festival, will conduct the National Orchestra of France at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, which will take place on Friday, July 26.

“I never thought in my life that I would have this opportunity. It’s a very beautiful thing because it’s an event where we all seem to forget the things that separate us and remember the beauty of the things that help us come together”, said Cristian Măcelaru to TVR Info.

Cristian Măcelaru came into the limelight for the first time in 2012, when he appeared at the lectern of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, replacing Pierre Boulez. In the same year, he received the “Solti Emerging Conductor Award” for young conductors, a prestigious distinction awarded only once in the history of the foundation, followed in 2014 by the “Solti Conducting Award”.

Since then, he has regularly conducted the concerts of some of the best American orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis and the National Symphony Orchestra.

The well-known Romanian conductor made his debut at Carnegie Hall in February 2015, in a program with the National Symphony Orchestra of Denmark and Anne-Sophie Mutter.

A passionate opera conductor, in June 2015 he led the Cincinnati Opera in highly acclaimed performances of “Il Trovatore”.

In 2010, he made his operatic debut with Houston Grand Opera in “Madama Butterfly” and conducted the American premiere of Colin Matthews’ “Turning Point” with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra at the Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival.

In 2019, he returned to Houston Grand Opera for Kasper Holten’s production of Don Giovanni.

In Europe, Măcelaru was in great demand as a guest conductor with numerous renowned orchestras and festivals, including the Bavarian Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the State Chapel Orchestra in Dresden, the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, the German Symphony Orchestra in Berlin, Birmingham City Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of France, Hallé Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Danish National Symphony Orchestra.