The Guardian“[Fabien] Gabel’s interpretation can only be described as awesome, and was characterised by a powerful, sweeping nobility, the opening motto magnificently brooding, the first movement’s allegro flung out with almost reckless defiance. The central allegretto, rolling slow movement and scherzo into one, relaxed into eloquent lyricism before the finale, recapitulating everything that had gone before, blazed with triumphant conviction. The BBCSO were at their best here, and there was some terrific playing, the great cor anglais solo in the allegretto above all…Gabel’s interpretation was all exhilaration and refinement, with gloriously tumultuous brass, a rich warmth and depth in the strings, and yet again some notably beautiful instrumental solos – cello and clarinet this time.”
Bachtrack“Conductor Gabel and the OSQ musicians did true justice to Schmitt’s score, one of the most notable of the large-scale creations of this master orchestrator. Stentorian brass and resplendent colors from the woodwinds combined with ever-busy strings and a whole raft of percussion arrayed across the right side of the stage, coming together in an über-impressive phalanx of sound that underscored yet again how unique and noteworthy this 1904 score was at the time of its creation – and remains today.”
Le Soleil“Fabien Gabel knows how to delicately reveal all the shimmers in this type of score.”
Seen and Heard International“Conductor Fabien Gabel returned to the Blossom Festival with a program similarly sculpted to his trademark French repertory. He certainly displayed his assurance and flair with these works, making sure that the dark shadows and brittle humor of the Alborado…were as viscerally compelling as they were entertaining.
Part of what was so effective in the Ravel and de Falla works was Gabel’s attention to crisp shaping and punching out of important details. Likewise, this approach kept the soft-grained orchestration of Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No.3 energized and aerated.
The concert was a highly successful return to the Cleveland Orchestra for Fabien Gabel.”
Texas Classical Review“Gabel and the orchestra spun it out in silky, caressing phrases—a seductive counterbalance to the Straussian heroics.
Gabel and the orchestra were simpatico partners with Gomyo all the way. The orchestra’s transparency enabled her to whisper without being drowned out, and Gabel kept the group in sync with her free-spirited pacing.”
San Diego Union-Tribune“The orchestra sparkled in these variations, led by Gabel with pronounced baton work in his right arm and florid sculpting with his left.”
Earrelevant“As led by Gabel, the Houston Symphony had countless moments of inspired playing. The strings moved as one in the rhythmic sections of the first movement, and the cello section presented several lyrical and tonally beautiful themes. Flute and French horn offered exceptional solos. Precise and sonorous bass pizzicatos provided a solid bass line.
Gabel provided an excellent, attentive, and well-balanced accompaniment. The combination of soloist and orchestra electrified the Jones Hall stage with crackling energy alternating with tender lyricism. Rarely are both parts of a concerto so unified.”
Fabien Gabel is Music Director of the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich, leading concerts across the orchestra’s homes in Vienna’s Musikverein, St. Pölten, and Grafenegg. He has established an international career of the highest caliber, appearing with orchestras such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Seoul Philharmonic and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Praised for his imaginative programs, Gabel crafts eclectic combinations of beloved masterworks and lesser-known gems of the repertoire.
In the 2026–27 season, Gabel returns to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Danish National Symphony Orchestra , Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and makes debuts with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Dresden Philharmonic. Following his celebrated debut at The Metropolitan Opera (Carmen), Gabel returns to Opéra national de Paris in June and July 2027 for Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.
Now in his second season as Music Director, Gabel’s programs with the Tonkünstler-Orchester embrace Austrian composers including Gustav Mahler, Franz Schreker, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and Thomas Larcher; He leads Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Die Seejungfrau in Vienna, as well as for his return to the Utah Symphony and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Gabel has a close association with the music of Maurice Ravel, which he conducts in Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, and Vienna. He brings French rarities to his Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra debut, pairing Dukas’s Le péri and Debussy’s Khamma with Stravinsky’s Scherzo fantastique and Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with Veronika Eberle. In Dresden, he reunites with Katia and Marielle Labèque for Philip Glass’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, alongside Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina Overture and Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony.
In France, Gabel works regularly with all major Parisian orchestras and Opéra national de Paris. He recently led the recording of a new score for Abel Gance’s 1927 epic film Napoléon with the Orchestre National de France and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. The first part of the film was presented at the 2024 Festival de Cannes and shown in theatres, on French television, and Netflix.
Gabel performs with many of the world’s leading soloists, including Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Rudolf Buchbinder, Bertrand Chamayou, Seong-Jin Cho, Yunchan Lim, Francesco Piemontesi, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Daniil Trifonov, Yuja Wang, Augustin Hadelich, Vilde Frang, Daniel Lozakovich, Christian Tetzlaff, Gautier Capuçon, Daniel Müller-Schott, Johannes Moser, Håkan Hardenberger, and Emmanuel Pahud. His collaborations with singers include Benjamin Bernheim, Nicole Car, Joyce DiDonato, Asmik Grigorian, Nikola Hillebrand, Petra Lang, Isabel Leonard, Lisette Oropesa, Michael Schade, Golda Schultz, and Michael Spyres.
Having attracted international attention in 2004 as the winner of the Donatella Flick conducting competition, Fabien Gabel was Assistant Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra 2004-2006. He was Music Director of Orchestre symphonique de Québec 2012-2021 and Orchestre Français des Jeunes 2017-2021.
Born in Paris to a family of accomplished musicians, Fabien Gabel began playing the trumpet at the age of six and honed his skills at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, and at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Reinhold Friedrich. He played with various Parisian orchestras under prominent conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Simon Rattle and Bernard Haitink before embarking on his conducting career. Gabel was named ‘Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres’ by the French government in January 2020.
2026-2027
