BIOGRAPHY
Recently praised in a New York Times profile for his “exquisite…frankly gorgeous conducting”, Robert Trevino is much in-demand by many of the world’s leading orchestras. Regularly to be seen on the podiums of top ensembles, from the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France to the London Symphony Orchestra, from the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig to the Baltimore Symphony, from the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich to the Orchestre dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Trevino has been named Principal Conductor of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, and is Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI since 2021.
“Trevino forms one symphonic organism that, with its delicate lines, its piercing nine-note chord blocks, venomous scherzos and waltzing dances of death, turns the whole span into the turning of a musical wheel of fortune… Very enthusiastic applause.”
Other collaborators include the Münchner Philharmoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Dresdner Philharmonie, SWR Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, NDR Hannover, Bamberger Symphoniker, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, MDR-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Wiener Symphoniker, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, La Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Helsinki Philharmonic, São Paulo Symphony, NHK Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Philharmonic, China Philharmonic, Russian National Orchestra and St Petersburg Philharmonic. He has conducted a wide variety of orchestras in North America – among them the symphony orchestras of Cleveland, Baltimore, Atlanta, Minnesota, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Utah, Toronto, Detroit, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México. He has appeared at many leading festivals, including the Mahler Festival Leipzig, Milan Mahler Festival, MITO Festival, Puccini Festival and Enescu Festival. Trevino’s opera work has included productions at Opernhaus Zurich, La Fenice, Washington National Opera and the Bolshoi Theater. Upcoming productions are at Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège (Capriccio), Teatro Communale di Bologna (Tristan und Isolde) and Teatro Regio di Parma (Falstaff).
He has led many international tours, including of Germany and Italy with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI; of Austria, Germany, France and Turkey with the Basque National Orchestra; of South America with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra; Germany and Italy with the Malmo Symphony Orchestra; Italy with the SWR Symphonieorchester; Turkey with the Wiener Symphoniker; Switzerland with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg; Italy with the George Enescu Philharmonic; Italy and Azerbaijan with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, and Romania with the MDR Sinfonieorchester.
“Startlingly excellent…Trevino maintains irresistible momentum, absorbing each detail into the general crescendo…he doesn’t skimp on the menace, but he and his musicians keep swinging to the end, dancing into darkness.”
For eight years, from 2017-2025, he was Music Director of the Basque National Orchestra, a period that was transformational in the orchestra’s history. There were award-winning recordings; a thriving digital presence and non-stop activity even during the Covid period. On tour he brought the orchestra to major venues such as the Grosses Festspielhaus Salzburg, Herkulessaal Munich and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris. Alex Ross in The New Yorker noted Trevino’s raising of the orchestra’s international profile, while Gramophone commented, “Trevino has revitalised the 40-year-old ensemble”. From 2019-2023 he was also Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Malmo Symphony Orchestra, where highlights included highly successful Beethoven and Stravinsky festivals, non-stop activity during the Covid period, and highly-innovative outreach projects.
His recording contract with Ondine has resulted in a ‘Recording Of The Year’ award from Presto Music for his album “Americascapes”, also shortlisted for a Gramophone Award; a widely-praised complete Beethoven symphonies cycle, two much-acclaimed Ravel albums, a Rautavaara album, Respighi’s Roman Trilogy and Sinfonia Drammatica, “Americascapes 2 – American Opus” and “Verdi”. Additionally, a complete cycle of Bruch symphonies with the Bamberger Symphoniker was released by CPO, and is now regarded as the modern reference recording. Between them, Robert Trevino’s recordings have garnered more than 16 accolades from respected reviews publications around the world.
Trevino burst into the international spotlight at the Bolshoi Theater in December 2013, leading a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo at short notice. The Russian press wrote, “There has not been an American success of this magnitude in Moscow since Van Cliburn.” He was subsequently nominated for a Golden Mask award for “Best Conductor in a New Production” and appeared every year at the Bolshoi for five seasons.
Robert Trevino has commissioned, premiered and worked closely with many leading composers, among them John Adams, Philip Glass, Sofia Gubaidulina, George Walker, Jennifer Higdon, Andre Previn, Augusta Read Thomas, Shulamit Ran, Ramon Lazkano and John Zorn.