THE GUARDIAN | ★★★★
“Presenting works rarely seen at the Proms, the BBCSO were at their best, led by the magnificently brooding Fabien Gabel”
LIMELIGHT | ★★★★
"... Gabel and WASO navigated Brahms’ masterly writing with reverence rather than romantic indulgence."
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD | ★★★★½
"Superbly rendered expressions of love and loss were at the heart of this generous and deeply satisfying program."
BACHTRACK
"Gabel and the ONF were perfect collaborators, contributing their own share of “sass with class”... The interpretation had atmospherics in spades; Gabel really played up the spiky brass outbursts, while the flute and trumpet solos were particularly noteworthy, hypnotic and even haunting in places.“
CONCERTONET
EN: “Former assistant to Kurt Masur, long-time director of the Orchester Symphonique de Québec, Fabien Gabel, one of the best French conductors of his generation, has had a fine career and his Parisian concerts are always satisfying, especially when he puts on the bill uncrowded.”
FR: “Ancien assistant de Kurt Masur, longtemps directeur de l’Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Fabien Gabel, une des meilleures baguettes françaises de sa génération, fait une belle carrière et ses concerts parisiens satisfont toujours, surtout quand il met à l’affiche des œuvres peu fréquentées.”
RADIO FRANCE
FR: "J'adore défendre la musique française, sans me contenter des œuvres phares. C'est bien de faire redécouvrir humblement du grand répertoire."
EN: "I love to defend French music, without being satisfied with the flagship works. It's good to humbly rediscover the great repertoire."
LËTZBEURGER LAND
FR: “C’est que le Français dirige large, avec une gourmandise voluptueuse, propre à exalter le naturel sensuel des œuvres qui lui sont confiées.”
EN: “It is that the Frenchman directs large, with voluptuous gluttony, capable of exalting the sensual naturalness of the works entrusted to him.”
LUXEMBOURG TIMES
“The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra gave a faultless performance, with conductor Fabien Gabel, leading his musicians with gravitas and aplomb…”
THE STAR TRIBUNE
“Among the three conductors who seem to hold the inside track on succeeding Osmo Vänskä as the Minnesota Orchestra's next music director, fate has made Fabien Gabel the one who's auditioning in the most surreptitious fashion.”
DÍAPASON
FR: “[Gabel] est encore un jeune mahlérien, qui compte approfondir cet univers dans les prochaines années… avec l’énergie, l’autorité et l’ambitus dynamique de cette lecture toute en présence et vitalité, fulgurante par moments.”
EN: “[Gabel] is still a young Mahlerian, who intends to deepen this universe in the coming years… with the energy, the authority and the dynamic ambition of this reading all in presence and vitality, dazzling at times.”
A MIC ON THE PODIUM
“Fabien Gabel was great to chat with and I found out how much of an influence Pierre Boulez was on him, we discussed how to get over being nervous when working with and assisting conductors that you admire, and I discover that Fabien, like myself, is a Berlioz fan!”
STAR TRIBUNE
“Familiar works were fresh again in a concert led by French conductor Fabien Gabel.”
PLANET HUGILL
"…pianist Alexandra Dariescu, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Fabien Gabel were in sparkling form...Gabel drew vivid textures into the drama"
BACHTRACK
"[Gabel] conducted with flair and vitality, particularly the Gaîté Parisienne Ballet Suite."
THE TIMES
"Carefully guided by conductor Fabien Gabel, [Mother Goose] was the star here...it was the sparseness of Gabel's approach, with pure-voiced solos from the LPO musicians, that impressed: the poignancy came from the lack of fussiness"
BACHTRACK
"Gabel ingeniously navigated Schreker's sea of orchestral colors in a way that preserved the overarching narrative, while also avoiding a flaw that can befall other conductors of this music: making the music sound sickly-sweet or rotten-ripe."
BACHTRACK
"Gabel's opening Allegro certainly sounded like ‘awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the countryside’, with singing strings and tight ensemble including a very effective cello choir in the middle of the movement."
HOUSTON CHRONICLE | PREVIEW
“Who better to present an all-French program of music than renowned French conductor Fabien Gabel?”
LA DEPECHE
EN: "… one of the most prominent conductors on the international scene, will conduct the Orchestre du Capitole for the fourth time on Saturday in a concert that will be performed behind closed doors but broadcast on digital platforms."
WANDERER
FR: “Fabien Gabel parvient à insuffler à l’Orchestre National de France une fluidité, une direction qui nourrissent la phrase et la dessinent, en assumant son caractère très intérieur et méditatif.”
EN: “Fabien Gabel succeeds in infusing the Orchestre National de France with a fluidity, a direction that nourishes and shapes the phrase, assuming a very interior and meditative character.”