Hailed as one of the most passionate conductors of his generation, Pablo González recently completed his four-years long term as the Principal Conductor of the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra (RTVE) and Artistic Adviser to the Orchestra and Choir, having appeared regularly at Madrid’s Teatro Monumental. Pablo previously served as Music Director of the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona I Nacional de Catalunya (10/15).
Pablo’s tenure in Madrid was characterized by the diversity of the repertoire, including the cycles: ‘Music under suspicion’, focusing in soviet composers under Stalin’s rule, ‘Echoes of the Belle Époque’, which culminated with a highly praised semi-staged performance of Bizet’s ‘Carmen’, ‘ Musical revolutions’ and ‘Roots’, an exploration of the influence of folk elements in XIX and XXth century orchestral repertoire. Berlioz, Mahler and Szymanowski received special attention, as well as well-established and emerging spanish contemporary composers. Full Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms cycles were also accomplished during these years.
During his tenure with the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona I Nacional de Catalunya, Pablo conducted a vast array of repertoire including full Mahler and Schumann cycles; led a central European tour including a highly successful appearance at Vienna’s Konzerthaus; recorded and released three volumes of orchestral works by Enrique Granados, and Bizet’s Carmen and L’Arlesienne suites (Naxos); and championed many new pieces by Catalan and Spanish composers. While in Barcelona, Pablo’s involvement with opera and choral music was also remarkable, strengthening the relationship with Barcelona’s Teatre Liceu with titles such as Strauss’ Daphne, Wagner’s Rienzi, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and Puccini’s Il tabarro, as well as all of Mahler’s orchestral lieder. Pablo also brought the orchestra back to the streets of Barcelona, reappearing at the popular “Festes de la Mercé”, and he led “Et toca a tu”: a mould-breaking social and collaborative project, bringing the musicians of the OBC together with children from neighborhoods at risk of social exclusion.
Russian and German symphonic repertoire of 19th and 20th centuries features most prominently among Pablo’s core repertoire. He has received widespread acclaim from audiences and critics for his interpretation of music by Mahler, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky, Schumann and Brahms. Pablo has also delivered passionate interpretations of symphonic works by Szymanowski, Nielsen, Dvořák and Berlioz.
Pablo enjoys a flourishing guest conducting career and has established several close relationships, with among others the Helsinki Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Dresden Philharmonic, The Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Stavanger Symphony, Bochum Symphony and Residentie Orchestra in the Hague. In the recent seasons Pablo has also collaborated with the Lahti Symphony in Finland, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the United Kingdom and with the Sinfonieorchester Basel.
Recent seasons were also dominated by a strong German presence, including debuts and return visits with some of Germany’s foremost symphony orchestras, taking Pablo to key venues such as Berlin’s Konzerthaus with The Konzerthausorchester Berlin; Cologne’s Philharmonie with Gürzenich-Orchester Köln; Großer Sendesaal des Hessischen Rundfunk with Frankfurt Radio Symphony; and Kulturpalast with Dresden Philharmonic. For his debut with Dresden Philharmonic, Sächsische Zeitung wrote: “both orchestra and conductor transform Manuel de Falla’s ballet suites into a brilliant and richly contrasting declaration of love to happiness, cheerfulness and fearlessness”. For his return to Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Kölner Stadtanzeiger commented “Pablo González rendered Schumann’s filigrane score with equal precision and expression”, and Opernfreund noted that “Pablo González’s vehement conducting was effectively accurate and succeeded in getting across a wide variety of emotions, bewitching the audience”. In his native Spain, Pablo is in high demand and enjoys fruitful collaborations with the country’s most prestigious orchestras, including Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Asturias, Castilla y León, and City of Granada Symphony Orchestra. Pablo’s long-standing relationship with Real Filharmonia de Galicia has culminated last year with a tour to Austria, featuring performances at the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg and the Festspielhaus in Bregenz.
22/23 season highlights included returns to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and The Hague’s Zuiderstrandtheater with the Residentie Orchestra; Philharmonie de Paris debut with the Orchestre National d’Ile de France and return collaboration with Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur. In 23/24 season upcoming are Pablo’s debuts with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Strasbourg Philharmonic and Stuttgart Staatsorchester.
Pablo has collaborated with many distinguished soloists including Julian Rachlin, Alina Ibragimova, Pablo Ferrández, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Svetlin Roussev, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Isabelle Faust, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Maxim Vengerov, Nikolai Lugansky, Javier Perianes, Yeol Eum Son, Khatia Buniatishvili, Beatrice Rana, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Sol Gabetta, Arcadi Volodos, Viktoria Mullova, Johannes Moser, Truls Mork and Viviane Hagner.
Equally passionate about opera, distinguished opera highlights of recent seasons include successful Glyndebourne tours of Don Giovanni and L’elisir d’amore; Carmen in San Sebastian and Tosca, Don Giovanni and Madama Butterfly in Opera de Oviedo.
Born in Oviedo, Pablo studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and first captured international attention with his victories at the Donatella Flick and Cadaqués International Conducting competitions. Pablo has previously served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra of the City of Granada and as Assistant Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.