Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Cristian Măcelaru

In a staged Firebird and an early work by Mahler, Cristian Măcelaru and the Cincinnati Symphony colorfully bring to life these composers’ youthful ambitions.

As gifts to the Philarmonia's 80th birthday season, Nicola Benedetti gives a barnstorming account of Elgar's Violin Concerto before Cristian Mӑcelaru gets emotionally drained by La Mer.

Cristian Mǎcelaru elicits enthralling performances from the ONF, Daniil Trifonov blends stunning virtuosity with poetic insight in a crowd-pleasing French program.

Venturing into Gershwin, Rudolf Buchbinder joins an Orchestre National de France programme at the George Enescu International Festival marked by surprises. 

Măcelaru's eclectic programming elicits passionate performances from the Orchestre National de France, and Randall Goosby shows his versatility with elegant and impassioned artistry. 

A sumptuous exploration of Saint-Saëns at Lotte Concert Hall in a programme forming a cohesive tapestry woven from the composer’s fascination with colour, all traced back to a distinctly Parisian sensibility. 

Expectations are not fulfilled in an uneven performance of Mendelssohn's great fiddle concerto, followed by an unidiomatic view of Sibelius' Fifth Symphony.

In Elgar's Cello Concerto, Yo-Yo Ma displays his gentle expressiveness and magnificent “singing”  tone.

The percussion department of the Orchestre National de France took their turn in the spotlight for Rodion Shchedrin's ballet. 

Cristian Măcelaru conducts The Hallé in music by Copland, Bernstein and Gershwin, plus his own arrangement of Jake Heggie's Moby Dick.

Making his Proms debut, Cristian Măcelaru opened the evening with music from his countryman, Constantin Silvestri, before tackling Prokofiev and Rachmaninov.

 A lively, muscular account of Stravinsky's Violin Concerto by Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang while Măcelaru conducts a convincing Manfred Symphony by Tchaikovsky. 

Performing both works for the first time, the RCO capered crisply through Shostakovich’s Suite from The Nose and played sumptuously in Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, with captivating songstress Wende.

A glittering performance of Mason Bates’ recent “concerto for orchestra” was a thrilling journey wedged between pretty good Beethoven.

Cristian Măcelaru joins forces with Nikolaj Znaider in a performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

It was a concert of two halves for RSNO's Bernstein tribute.

Hallé guest conductor Cristian Măcelaru provided excellent direction in a selection of classic repertoire.

Bach presented in various orchestral transcriptions made for a powerful, entertaining evening in Barcelona. 

Mason Bates' Symphony Liquid Interface takes over the stage in Washington DC. 

Cristian Măcelaru and the Hallé give exemplary accounts of Fauré's Dolly Suite and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, whilst Mozart's “Jeunehomme” Concerto with soloist Heejae Kim is variable and lacks instrumetal balance.  

The Hallé under Cristian Măcelaru performs a thrilling concert of works inspired by legends, along with Poulenc's Organ Concerto. 

Helena Wood makes Lutoslawski's Partita sizzle while the Con Tempo Quartet give a fascinating account of Liget's Métamorphoses nocturnes. 

The Slav pianist brings his informal vision of Bartók to Symphony Hall.

Shostakovich's Eighth dominated another memorable City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra programme. 

Cristian Măcelaru and the Vancouver Symphony offer an imperfect yet charismatic journey through Central Europe in works by Dvořák, Brahms, and Enescu.

Znaider's dual role: this week, violinist, next week conductor at the  Kennedy Center. 

Violinist Keren Gomyo and conductor Cristian Măcelaru team up to provide a superb Tchaikovsly concerto. 

The NSO, Philharmonic Chorus under the baton of Macelaru give a riveting account of Beethoven's Missa solemnis.

Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru was rapturously received as guest conductor for this brilliantly original and eclectic programme with the Hallé. 

On this Montréal concert, visiting conductor Cristian Măcelaru presented Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs to mark the 70th anniversary of World War II

Cristian Măcelaru brought his pedigree as a conductor to the CBSO with Sibelius, Rachmaninov and Nielsen. How would he fare in Birmingham with such a varied programme?

This concert, given by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Cristian Măcelaru, was a great start to the new year! 

Under Cristian Măcelaru's baton, Al-Zand, Barber, and Copland paint a memorable American scene.

Pierre Boulez builds a deceptively brilliant program featuring works by Stravinsky, Debussy, and Ravel, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra follows through on its execution.

As a title for the opening performance of MusicNOW’s 2013-2014 season, “Vaporized” is somewhat misleading. It comes from the evening’s first piece, and it makes for a tidy, catchy branding for a new music concert. Yet the other two works are steeped in a density and concreteness that are counterintuitive to the abstract, amorphous implications of that title.

Dans le Concerto pour violon de Beethoven, le violoniste allemand et la phalange parisienne ont montré leur belle complicité, avant une Première Symphonie de Brahms décevante sous la direction de Cristian Măcelaru.

La journée de clôture du festival a résumé en trois concerts son édition 2026 placée sous la figure tutélaire d'Aperghis, avec en point d'orgue le Concerto pour accordéon du compositeur grec.

Le chef roumain a manqué son rendez-vous avec Beethoven, échouant à transmettre une vision engagée de la Symphonie n° 3 du compositeur.

En visite à la Philharmonie de Paris, le National et son directeur musical ont déçu, notamment dans une deuxième suite de Daphnis et Chloé peu inspirée.

Das Tonhalle-Orchester unter der Leitung des Gastdirigenten Cristian Măcelaru bringt neben der Zürcher Erstaufführung von Weathered auch die fünfte Symphonie von Prokofjew zur Aufführung.

Inégaux dans Strauss, Cristian Măcelaru et l'Orchestre National de France ont accompagné une Joyce DiDonato émouvante dans des lieder d'Alma et Gustav Mahler.

Le National et son directeur musical ont proposé un programme festif rappelant que Vienne n'est pas seulement la patrie des Strauss mais aussi le creuset d'une quantité de traditions populaires d'Europe centrale.

Cristian Măcelaru und die Pianistin Beatrice Rana begeistern mit Ravels Klavierkonzert sowie weiteren französischen Klassikern.

L'orchestre et son directeur musical ont livré une interprétation puissante de la Deuxième Symphonie de Mahler, avec Karen Cargill en invitée d'honneur.

Après un Concerto pour violon de Brahms décevant en compagnie de Julia Fischer, l'orchestre et son chef ont rayonné dans les Images de Debussy, et intéressé dans la rare Deuxième Symphonie d'Elsa Barraine.

Le piano formidable d'Alexandre Kantorow n'a pas suffi à compenser le ronron orchestral de la phalange dirigée par Cristian Măcelaru, peu éloquente également après l'entracte dans les extraits de Roméo et Juliette de Prokofiev.

Dans un programme 100% français qui représente pourtant le cœur de leur répertoire, l'orchestre et son directeur musical ont paru empruntés, au contraire d'un Seong-Jin Cho inspiré dans Saint-Saëns.

Premier des cinq concerts célébrant les 90 ans de l'Orchestre National de France, La Damnation de Faust de Berlioz dirigée par Cristian Măcelaru a laissé l'auditeur sur sa faim.

Prenant des tempos extrêmement lents, déstructurant les phrases, le pianiste russe n’est pas parvenu à apprivoiser la difficile partition de Rachmaninov.