Biography

 Gavriel Heine is an American conductor who has recently come to prominence in Europe. He is currently a staff conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre (formerly Kirov), where he leads performances on a regular basis. Recent guest conducting engagements have included repeat engagements with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, appearances with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the “Novaya Rossiya” State Symphony Orchestra (Moscow) and the State Academic Capella Orchestra (St. Petersburg) and the St. Michel Strings (Finland). After his debut in Basel, the Swiss critics wrote:

…"Zum Abschluss Gershwins "An American in Paris". Da war der in New Jersey geborene Dirigent in seinem Element. Beflügelnd sein Dirigat, dem das Orchester mit pulsierendem musikantischen Gestus folgte und dieses unterhaltsame Opus mit konzertantem Drive einem begeisterten Publikum präsentierte."
Paul Schorno • Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, 16 May 2006

And of his 2007 subscription concert performance of Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances:

…"Er verstieg sich nie in bravouröse Prahlerei mit oberflächlichen Effekten, sondern leistete vor allem im unteren Bereich der Dynamik konzentrierte Detailarbeit mit Elastizität im Tempo. Selbst die virtuosen Fortissimo-Ausbrüche kamen immer intensiv und bedacht daher und trugen wohl massgeblich dazu bei, dass das Publikum nach dem unerbittlichen, lange ausgehaltenen Tamtam-Schlag beeindruckt applaudierte."
Fabian Kristmann • Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, 25 May 2007

At the Mariinsky Theatre, Heine has conducted Le nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Macbeth, La Boheme, Il Trittico, Jenůfa and L’heure Espagnole, also having worked as assistant conductor on the 2007 production of Tosca. After his debut at the Mariinsky with Le nozze di Figaro, the press wrote:

…The light overture dashed along in one breath, after which in a similarly easy and spontaneous manner began the duet of the enamored Figaro and Susanna… It was pleasantly striking that Gavriel Heine did not at all gather to show what a debutant of genius he was. In every way he desired one thing – to show what a composer of genius Mozart was, and what tremendous music he wrote. The conductor was – and the conductor was not: he was like an invisible man, but in point of fact he was perfectly on top of the issues… The very biased art of opera quite depends, probably, on the movement of heavenly bodies. And, apparently, on the conductor.”
Vladimir Dudin • Saint-Petersburg Vedomosti, 24 July 2007

In 2007, he was one of three conductors invited to take part in a televised masterclass with Valery Gergiev and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, where the Dutch press reported:

Spectaculairder is kandidaat nummer drie, de Amerikaan Gavriel Heine. [...] Borende ogen, een stokloos handenballet met vingers die de klank uit de lucht plukken – hij is een dirigent met uitgesproken charisma, die veel wil, en het krijgt ook.
Frits van der Waa • De Volkskrant, 08-09-07

Subsequently, he was engaged by the Rotterdam Philharmonic as assistant conductor for the 2007 and 2008 Gergiev Festivals, where he conducted rehearsals of Mahler’s 7th Symphony, Tishchenko’s Yaroslavna Suite, the Dutilleux Violin Concerto, Bruckner’s 3rd Symphony and Stravinsky’s Orpheus. An invition followed for him to share the podium with Valery Gergiev for a concert with the Mariinsky Orchestra at the 2008 Mikkeli Music Festival (Finland), after which he was invited to conduct a program at the 2009 festival.

Engagements in 2010 include a debut with the Verdi Symphony Orchestra (Milan) and a return to the State Academic Capella Orchestra (St. Petersburg).

From 2003-2007, Gavriel Heine served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Kharkov Symphony Orchestra “Slobozhanskii” (Ukraine), and led the orchestra in over 40 programs at home and on international tours. Engagements in Ukraine included conducting the final rounds of the 7th and 8th International Vladimir Krainev Competitions for Young Pianists.

Gavriel Heine was born in New Jersey, USA. He graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory as a cellist, and studied operatic/symphonic conducting at the St. Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory with Ilya Musin and Leonid Korchmar. He has a Masters degree in conducting from Indiana University, Bloomington, where he studied with Imre Pallo, Thomas Baldner and David Effron.