[1] He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, where he graduated in 1960 with top honors.

[3] Leaving behind a promising career in Czechoslovakia, he left the country after the Soviet-led invasion of 1968 crushed the Prague Spring,[4] with his wife and daughter.

He made his successful London debut at the Royal Festival Hall in February 1969 with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra as a late replacement for Constantin Silvestri.

[1] The concert included a performance of Richard Strauss' Don Quixote, with cellist Paul Tortelier and violist Mary Samuel.

[3] He served as artistic advisor of the San Antonio Symphony[6] and principal conductor of Chicago's Grant Park Music Festival.

[7][9] He took that orchestra on an East Coast tour in 1989, which included performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Carnegie Hall in New York City.

[9][11] In 1995, he made Dolby Surround recordings of Reinhold Glière's Second Symphony in C minor and the suite from his ballet The Red Poppy.

[7][13] In 2006, Mácal made a brief appearance in the Japanese drama series Nodame Cantabile, based on the manga by Tomoko Ninomiya.