French flair makes for a fantastique symphony

From a family of accomplished musicians (his father played trumpet for the Paris Opera for 37 years), Fabien began studying trumpet at the age of six, honing his skills at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, which awarded him First Prize in trumpet in 1996, and later at the Musik Hochschule of Karlsruhe.

He went on to play in several Parisian orchestras under the direction of prominent conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Simon Rattle and Bernard Haitink. In 2002, Fabien pursued his interest in conducting at the Aspen Summer Music Festival, where he studied with David Zinman, who invited him to appear as a guest conductor at the Festival in 2009.

He first attracted international attention in 2004 winning the Donatella Flick competition in London, a program created to help talented young conductors bridge the gap between conservatoire training and life as a professional conductor. This win led to his appointment as the London Symphony Orchestra’s (LSO) assistant conductor for two seasons. Since then, he has had regular engagements as a guest conductor with the LSO.

Fabien regularly travels internationally to perform with leading orchestras including the Seoul Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra D.C., Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic and Danish National Symphony Orchestra to name a few.

Currently Music Director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, a position he has held for the past seven years, and the innovative Orchestre Français des Jeunes, it comes as no surprise that one of Fabien’s passions is championing works by lesser known French composers.

In Symphonie Fantastique two dream-filled French works frame a world premiere by James Ledger. Inspired by unrequited romantic love, Berlioz’s radical masterpiece Symphonie fantastique is full of passions, dreams and phantoms – a lovesick musician’s hallucinatory fantasies. Astonishingly modern and revolutionary at its premiere in 1830, it is still breathtaking nearly 200 years later. The concentrated atmospherics of Florent Schmitt’s Rêves will make its West Australian premiere as the concert’s opening piece.

“Rêves is an extraordinary piece of music — a composition that is completely hallucinating as well as brilliantly orchestrated. The challenge for the conductor is how to deliver a convincing performance in such a short time-span. But despite its complexity and modernity, I consider it to be a wonderful introduction to Florent Schmitt’s music.” – Fabien Gabel (florentschmitt.com)

Renowned worldwide as one of the stars of a new generation of conductors, Fabien routinely receives rave reviews for his performances, making this one concert you do not want to miss.

“Few conductors generate excitement quite like Fabien Gabel.” - Rochester City Newspaper

“Fabien Gabel knows how to delicately reveal all the shimmers in the score” - Le Soleil Quebec

“Every move was compact, instantly communicative...The conductor (Fabien Gabel) must be able to both lead and follow, a rare skill indeed.” - Cleveland Plain Dealer

Fabien feels that French music is in jeopardy as it doesn’t receive regular programming, “The French repertoire should not be “owned” by French musicians exclusively, and I humbly encourage artists all around the world to study, understand, appreciate and disseminate this wonderful repertoire.”

Symphonie Fantastique
Perth Concert Hall
Thursday 3 October – 11am
Friday 4 & Saturday 5 October - 7.30pm

Morning Symphony tickets at https://www.waso.com.au/concerts-tickets/whats-on/concert/Symphonie-Fantastique-morning

Evening tickets at https://www.waso.com.au/concerts-tickets/whats-on/concert/Symphonie-Fantastique