"Gabel managed to infuse the sound with a sense of human empathy with the highs and lows in the score....[he] managed to play the orchestra as one unit in a tight grip that he animated and enthused with a clear Gallic passion."
"Gabel conjured up a musical vision that was gripping in its intensity...and the Clevelanders provided wonderfully balanced musical support, in a performance that had everything coming together just right...it was a highly satisfying evening of music-making by one of America’s great orchestras under the baton of a conductor who is a tireless – and welcome – ambassador for the music of his native country."
"Maestro Gabel was graceful and elegant on the podium as he coaxed silky sounds from the strings and woodwind players...Gabel’s well-chosen program of orchestral showpieces – several of them true rarities – proved how impressive the OSQ can sound when playing music as inventive and inspired as this. It was a very special concert of some equally special music.
"Gabel delivered a strong, polished performance, leading an orchestra that sounded at the top of its game...One of Gabel's greatest strengths is his capacity for lyricism, exhibiting a kind of meta-connectivity between phrases that enhanced the concerto and gave it more nuance.”
"Few RPO guest conductors generate excitement quite like Fabien Gabel. The Quebec City Orchestra music director has become a Rochester favorite since his 2014 debut."
In 2002, Juliana Athayde and Fabien Gabel were both in the Aspen Summer Music Festival. Fifteen years later, they'll take the stage together--he as guest conductor of your Rochester Philharmonic, and she as soloist in Bartok's Violin Concerto No. 2. Together, they chatted with WXXI Music Director Julia Figueras about the magic of Debussy, the earthiness of Bartok, and what took Juliana so long to get to that concerto.
"every move was compact, instantly communicative...The conductor must be able to both lead and follow, a rare skill indeed."
"Gabel was in his element here, eliciting highly expressive playing from the orchestra...This enormously talented conductor is worth a second look."
Fabien Gabel has many reasons why he enjoys coming back to Houston – an affection for Mexican food, a chance to see an old high school friend, and another opportunity to collaborate with the Houston Symphony.
”It is a particular pleasure to see an artist evolve harmoniously: every opportunity we have to hear the French Fabien Gabel - 39 years old, musical director of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra since 2012, former assistant to Kurt Masur at the National Orchestra of France - illustrates this feeling.”