The San Francisco Symphony’s Măcelaru Conducts Dvořák’s New World performance on Saturday, May 23, 2026, featured Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru, the world premiere of Tyler Taylor’s Embers, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with pianist Simon Trpčeski, and concluded with Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9.
Overview:
Just how American is the New World Symphony? Although many listeners swear that they hear snatches of such classic folk tunes as “Turkey in the Straw,” “Three Blind Mice,” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” Dvořák later claimed that the Ninth’s title was meant only to describe “impressions and greetings from the New World.” Kicking things off with a commissioned premiere by Tyler Taylor—the 2024 winner of the Emerging Black Composers Project—Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru leads the San Francisco Symphony in a rousing and profound program that also boasts Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto, No. 1, spotlighting Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski. The piano tumbles recklessly, sings ardently, mimics, mocks, and pounds until the meter-juggling finale drives home the happy ending.
Concert Extras:
Saturday and Sunday: An Inside Music Talk with composer Tyler Taylor, winner of the 2024 Emerging Black Composers Project, in conversation with Benjamin Pesetsky, was presented on stage one hour before the concerts.
Program:
Cristian Măcelaru conducting
Tyler Taylor
Embers (2026)
San Francisco Symphony Commission and World Premiere
Commissioned as part of the Emerging Black Composers Project
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Opus 1 (1891/1917)
Vivace
Andante
Allegro vivace
Simon Trpčeski piano
Intermission
Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Opus 95, From the New World (1893)
Adagio–Allegro molto
Largo
Scherzo: Molto vivace
Allegro con fuoco
Artists:
Cristian Măcelaru – Conductor
Simon Trpčeski – Piano
The piano was technically perfect, played by Simon Trpčeski with great volume and energetic passion. The audience was very appreciative and was rewarded with two encores. There were lots of audience members who knew these pieces very well and came to hear these various new renditions. Most people in the audience did not know his work, because he is a new composer, but they knew the main number. The opening piece was the premier by composer Simon Trpčeski, which was a $15,00.00 commission from the Symphony. He said he was very happy to receive the grant due to the fact that he needed a new car. He was an award recipient to a scholarship to the Virginia Academy of Music. I am an aficionado of the Antonín Dvořák piece.
Symphony No. 9, From the New World, and it was done to perfection. The orchestra was very tight. Part of the New World Symphony uses a white color, a tune, a phrase, a musical, a melody that was sometimes attributed to being from the folk tune “Going Home” when in fact ‘Going Home’ was written by one of Dvořák’s contemporaries, who made a popular tune out of it.
Davies Symphony Hall is iconic. The Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall is a 2,743-seat concert hall located at 201 Van Ness Avenue within San Francisco’s War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. Opened on September 16, 1980, it was built at a cost of $28 million to give the San Francisco Symphony a dedicated permanent home.
The Need for a Dedicated Home. For over half a century, the San Francisco Symphony (founded in 1911) was forced to share the neighboring War Memorial Opera House with the San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Ballet. This arrangement caused severe scheduling conflicts and prevented the symphony from operating on a full-time, year-round basis.
Design and Construction, discussions for a second performing arts venue began in the 1960s, but the project ultimately required massive private fundraising. The hall is named for philanthropist Louise M. Davies, an oil heiress who contributed $5 million toward the construction.
Architects: The modern venue was designed by Pietro Belluschi in collaboration with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Building-within-a-Building: Designed to harmonize with the Beaux-Arts architecture of the surrounding Civic Center, the building was uniquely engineered with a massive, curved glass façade and an inner shell that insulates the auditorium from city noise and vibration.
Acoustic Renovations
When the hall first opened, its acoustics received mixed reviews because sound did not properly diffuse through the space. In 1992, the symphony underwent a successful $10 million acoustic renovation. Acoustician Larry Kirkegaard installed a massive acrylic acoustic canopy suspended above the stage and reshaped the side walls, drastically improving the hall’s warmth and resonance.
Notable Features & Milestones
The Organ: Davies Hall houses one of the largest concert hall organs in North America. Manufactured by the Fratelli Ruffatti firm in Italy, the massive instrument features nearly 8,000 pipes and was installed in 1984.
The MTT Era: The hall’s legacy is heavily intertwined with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, who served as the orchestra’s Music Director from 1995 to 2020, ushering in a golden age of American and contemporary music performances.
What a great concert, truly the best of the best, worth every minute.
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness Ave.
San Francisco, CA.
94102
(415) 864-6000
https://www.sfsymphony.org/
Photo credit by William C. Turner
- Note Some Content Was taken Off Of Their Website.
