When Cristian Măcelaru and Daniil Trifonov meet for this program, they’ll simply be picking up where they last left off. In the 2022–23 season, Trifonov was artist-in-residence at the Orchestre National de France, Măcelaru’s other orchestra. Trifonov toured Germany with the orchestra that season, then reunited with the ONF in November of 2025 for its first U.S. tour with Măcelaru. 

Trifonov was onstage for an even earlier Măcelaru milestone in 2015, when he made his much-anticipated podium debut with the New York Philharmonic. The New York Times praised that debut as “impressive” and “auspicious,” with plaudits aplenty for the 24-year-old Trifonov as well. “Even when the music broke into intricate passagework and brilliant flourishes, Mr. Trifonov demonstrated crisp brio and an ear for detail, though there was plenty of fiery virtuosity as well,” the Times enthused.

At the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music alone — which Măcelaru also leads — he estimates he’s led somewhere between 30 to 35 new commissions. Add U.S. or regional premieres to the mix, and “we’re adding another 30 to 35,” Măcelaru says. 

With the CSO, Măcelaru is adding to his (and the Orchestra’s) record of commissioning and performing new music. These concerts are the U.S. premiere of the complete trilogy I Want to Be Alive (which the CSO co-commissioned and first performed a portion of during the 2023–24 season). The concerts also mark the first time Măcelaru leads Daníel Bjarnason’s music.

“Honestly, I find a tremendous amount of pleasure and satisfaction from opening a score that I have no idea what it will be like,” Măcelaru says of conducting new work. “I have a pretty good idea, but there are still elements to discover, and an interesting way in which the music starts to develop.”  

—Hannah Edgar