Gabriel Bebeşelea (b. 1987) has been called one of the finest Romanian conductors of recent generations. His enthusiasm and musicality have taken him to the podiums of some of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, symphony orchestras of Barcelona and Singapore, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, the Evgeny Svetlanov State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia and the Tonkünstler Orchestra.
In 2020, Mr. Bebeşelea took over as principal conductor of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra in Bucharest. He has been principal conductor of the Transylvanian State Philharmonic Orchestra in Cluj-Napoca since 2016. Current concert highlights include appearances with the Marseille Philharmonic Orchestra, a tour with the PKF-Prague Philharmonia, and a CD recording with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra with works by George Enescu and orchestrated by Mr. Bebeşelea. In 2023 Gabriel Bebeşelea will be the Resident Conductor of the European Capital of Culture 2023 - Timisoara and of the “Banatul” Philharmonic Orchestra of that same city. In this role he has prepared a full-season of conceptually interconnected concerts, culminating with performances of Arnold Schoenberg’s monumental Gurrelieder in Germany and Romania.
A remarkable opera conductor, Mr. Bebeşelea was named principal conductor of the Romanian National Opera of Iaşi in 2011, becoming the youngest ever principal conductor in Romania. In 2015 he was named principal conductor of the National Romanian Opera House of Cluj-Napoca. In the 2022/23 season, Gabriel Bebeşelea will lead a new production of Manon Lescaut at the Slovenian National Theater Maribor.
In addition to conducting, Gabriel Bebeșelea is passionately active in researching and rediscovering long forgotten or neglected musical masterpieces. To bring such music to light, he founded the Ensemble Musica Ricercata, an international artistic collective dedicated to historically informed performances, in 2017. With the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, he recorded a CD featuring George Enescu’s rediscovered oratorio Strigoii (The Ghosts) and his Pastorale - Fantaisie pour petite orchestre (edited by Gabriel Bebeşelea). The CD was released on the Capriccio label.
Alongside his success at home he has continued to develop his skills with some of the world’s leading conductors. In 2015 he had the opportunity to study with legendary conductors Bernard Haitink and Kurt Masur. In 2011 he was awarded a scholarship enabling an internship with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, where he had the possibility to assist at the rehearsals and concerts with such renowned conductors as Mariss Jansons, Bernard Haitink, Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Philippe Herreweghe, David Zinman and Eliahu Inbal.
Mr. Bebeşela made a big impression already in the first years of his studies, winning first prizes at the Lovro von Matačić Conducting Competition in Zagreb (2015) and at the Jeunesses Musicales Conducting Competition in Bucharest (2011). He was a semifinalist at both the Donatella Flick Competition with the London Symphony Orchestra and at the Gustav Mahler Competition with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.
