American harpsichordist Gabriel Smallwood has established himself as a distinctive voice among a new generation of historical keyboard players. A prizewinner at several prestigious international harpsichord competitions—including the MA Competition in Bruges (BE), the “Wanda Landowska in Memoriam” International Harpsichord Competition in Poznań (PL) and the International Harpsichord Competition in Milan (IT)—he has captivated listeners with his “remarkable expressiveness“ (Total Baroque) and a “captivating interpretation that is […] musically vivid and distinctly personal“ (RONDO Magazine).
Originally from South Carolina, Gabriel began his musical journey on the piano at age three. His first encounter with the harpsichord came at twelve, inciting his passion for early music. During his years in South Carolina, he collaborated with the South Carolina Bach Society in solo and continuo roles. In 2016, Gabriel moved to Europe, where his musical studies led him to Leipzig, Hamburg, and ultimately Basel, where he currently resides.
Der US-amerikanische Cembalist Gabriel Smallwood etabliert sich rasch als führende Figur der Alte-Musik-Szene. Als Preisträger mehrerer des MA Wettbewerbs in Brügge (Belgien), des Wettbewerbs „Wanda Landowska in Memoriam“ in Poznań (Polen) sowie des Internationalen Cembalowettbewerbs in Mailand (Italien), beeindruckt er sein Publikum mit einer „remarkable expressiveness“ (Total Baroque) sowie mit „fantastischen Interpretationen, die […] musikalisch lebendig und zugleich persönlich gefärbt sind“ (Rondo Magazin).
Geboren in South Carolina, begann Gabriel im Alter von drei Jahren Klavier zu spielen. Seine Leidenschaft für historische Tasteninstrumente wurde im Alter von zwölf Jahren durch das Cembalo geweckt. Dies führte zu zahlreichen Forschungsprojekten und Auftritten, darunter Solo- und Continuo-Rollen bei der South Carolina Bach Society. Gabriel nahm 2019 formalen Cembalounterricht auf, kurz vor Abschluss seines Bachelor-Studiums in Leipzig, und widmet sich seitdem ganz der Alten Musik und den historischen Tasteninstrumenten.
Both as a soloist and chamber musician, Gabriel has appeared at major festivals including the MA Festival (BE), Stockholm Early Music (SE), Roma Festival Barocco (IT), Wratislavia Cantans (PL), as well as esteemed venues such as AMUZ (BE) and the National Centre for Early Music (UK). His debut solo album, Juvenilia: Music by and surrounding the young Bach (Outhere Music, 2026), received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Further recordings include collaborations with the NDR Radiophilharmonie and Diana Damrau for Warner Classics and with Le Sommeil for Pentatone. As a specialist in medieval keyboard music, he has appeared with Pedro Memelsdorff and Mala Punica, the Newberry Consort, Trobár and La Figuièra.
In addition to his performing career, Gabriel is an accomplished composer, having won prizes in numerous national competitions in the United States. In 2012, he made his debut as a composer at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Gabriel completed his studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland, the worldwide leading institution for the study and performance of early music. He graduated with honors, receiving the highest marks for his final recital, master’s thesis and pedagogy certification. His principal teachers include Francesco Corti, Andrea Marcon, Corina Marti and Menno van Delft. He received further artistic impulses from masterclasses with Christophe Rousset, Skip Sempe, Pierre Hantaï and Carole Cerasi. Currently, Gabriel teaches harpsichord as assistant to Francesco Corti at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, in Basel, Switzerland.
Als Solist war Gabriel schon bei Festivals und in Sammlungen historischer Tasteninstrumente unter anderem in Hamburg (DE), Rom (IT), Bologna (IT), Nové Město (CZ) und Greenville (SC, USA) zu hören. In seiner kammermusikalischen Tätigkeit als Continuospieler führten ihn Engagements zu bedeutenden Festivals und Institutionen wie AMUZ (BE), Early Music Sweden (SE), dem National Centre for Early Music (UK), dem Roma Festival Barocco (IT) sowie dem Wratislavia Cantans (PL).
Zudem war er an Aufnahmen für Labels wie Warner Classics und Pentatone beteiligt und arbeitete dabei mit Künstler:innen und Ensembles wie Diana Damrau, der NDR Radiophilharmonie und Le Sommeil mit. Im Februar 2026 erschien sein Debüt-Soloalbum beim renommierten Label Outhere Music, das sich den frühen Werken von Johann Sebastian Bach widmet.
Gabriels umfassende Ausbildung führte ihn an Musikhochschulen in Leipzig, Hamburg und Basel. Zu seinen Hauptlehrern zählen Francesco Corti, Corina Marti, Jörg-Andreas Bötticher, und Menno van Delft. Weitere wichtige künstlerische Impulse erhielt er in Meisterkursen mit renommierten Musiker:innen wie Christophe Rousset, Pierre Hantaï, Skip Sempe, Carole Cerasi, Ketil Haugsand und Benjamin Alard. Derzeit unterrichtet Gabriel an der Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, der weltweit führenden Institution für Alte Musik, als Lehrassistent von Prof. Francesco Corti.
Solo Recital
St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Greenville, SC (USA)
Works by Bach, Buxtehude, Böhm, and Reincken
South Carolina Bach Competition
Greenville, SC (USA)
Jury member in South Carolina's first Bach Competition
Broken Colours
Basel, Switzerland
pseudonym
Chamber music from early 17th-century Italy
Solo Recital
Chiesa di San Maurizio, Milan (IT)
Works by Bach, Buxtehude, Reincken, Böhm
Broken Colors
Brühler Schlosskirche, Brühl (DE)
pseudonym
Chamber music from early 17th-century Italy
Organ Recital
Stadtkirche St. Martin, Rheinfelden (CH)
Works by Italian and Flemish composers from the Renaissance and early Baroque
TRINITY – Musik aus alten Hansestädten
St. Marien, Stendal (DE)
European Hanseatic Ensemble
Direction: Manfred Cortes
TRINITY – Musik aus alten Hansestädten
Heilig-Geist-Kirche, Wismar (DE)
European Hanseatic Ensemble
Direction: Manfred Cortes
TRINITY – Musik aus alten Hansestädten
Kirche am Lietzensee, Berlin (DE)
European Hanseatic Ensemble
Direction: Manfred Cortes
TRINITY – Musik aus alten Hansestädten
St.-Marien-Kirche, Frankfurt an der Oder (DE)
European Hanseatic Ensemble
Direction: Manfred Cortes
Solo Recital
Milan (IT)
part of Festival Milano Arte Musica 2025
J.S. Bach - Clavierübung II
Solo Recital
Milan (IT)
part of Festival Milano Arte Musica 2025
J.S. Bach - Clavierübung II
Music for Organ and Lutes
Žemalės Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. Virgin Mary Church, Mažeikiai (LT)
part of IV International Mažeikiai Organ Music Festival 2025
with Christian Velasco Vázquez (lute) and Niels Pfeffer (lute)
Mala Punica: Johannes Ciconia
AMUZ, Antwerp (BEL)
Direction: Pedro Memelsdorff
Duo Recital
Hřbitovní kostel Panny Marie, Vyškov (CZ)
Recital part of the Summer Baroque Festival in Vyškov.
Michaela Koudelková - Traverso and Recorder
Gabriel Smallwood - Harpsichord
Semele
Knights Academy, Royal Hall, Legnica (PL)
Le Sommeil
Music by M. Marais, G. F. Handel and John Eccles
Semele
Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross, Środa Śląska (PL)
Le Sommeil
Music by M. Marais, G. F. Handel and John Eccles
Semele
Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, Kłodzko (PL)
Le Sommeil
Music by M. Marais, G. F. Handel and John Eccles
Semele
National Music Forum, Red Hall, Wrocłav (PL)
Le Sommeil
Music by M. Marais, G. F. Handel and John Eccles
Alcina
Klaipėda Concert Hall, Klaipėda (LT)
Rodrigo Calveyra, Conductor and Artistic Direction
Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra
Alcina
Palace of the Grand Dukes, Vilnius (LT)
Rodrigo Calveyra, Conductor and Artistic Direction
Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra
Semele
Museum Kleines Klingental, Basel (CH)
Le Sommeil
Music by M. Marais, G. F. Handel and John Eccles
Vogelgesang
Kulturhaus Rain, Kleindöttingen (CH)
Tzu-Chi Kuo - Recorder
Stephen Moran - Viola da Gamba
Simon Vander Plaetse - Lute
Gabriel Smallwood - Harpsichord
Bach to Bruckner
Florence, SC USA
Florence Symphony Orchestra
J.S. Bach - Harpsichord Concerto in A major, BWV 1055
Semele
Landgasthof Riehen (CH)
Le Sommeil
Music by G. F. Handel, J. Eccles and M. Marais
Broken Colors
Quartierzentrum Iselin, Basel (CH)
Chamber Music from early 17th-Century Italy
pseudonym
Liane Sadler // Traverso
Maya Webne-Behrman // Violin
Stephen Moran // Viola da gamba
Gabriel Smallwood // Harpsichord
Broken Colors
Museum Kleines Klingental, Basel (CH)
Chamber Music from early 17th-Century Italy
pseudonym
Liane Sadler // Traverso
Maya Webne-Behrman // Violin
Stephen Moran // Viola da gamba
Gabriel Smallwood // Harpsichord, Organ
Sulle orme italiane. Dialoghi tra corde e tasti
Monastero di Trinità dei Monti, Refettorio dei Minimi, Rome (IT)
Beatriz Lopez Paz, Viola da gamba
Gabriel Smallwood, Harpsichord
Clavicymbalum Recital
QuBa Quartierzentrum, Basel (CH)
Medieval keyboard music from the 14th and 15th centuries
Les Festins du Vendredi
Harpsichord Recital
Palazzo Annibaldeschi, Monte Compatri (IT)
Keyboard works by Sweelinck, Cornet, Bull, Philips, Frescobaldi
Discret et distrait
AMUZ, Antwerp (BEL)
Music by F. Couperin, J. Rameau and G. P. Telemann
pseudonym
Liane Sadler // Traverso
Maya Webne-Behrman // Violin
Stephen Moran // Viola da gamba
Gabriel Smallwood // Harpsichord
fitted for...
Zunftsaal Schmiedenhof, Basel (CH)
Corellis Sonaten und Concerti
da camera
El Gabinete de Música
Soko Yoshida, Violin
Carlos Leal Cardín, Cello
Pablo Fitzgerald, Theorbo
Gabriel Smallwood, Harpsichord
Telemann in Paris
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent (BEL)
pseudonym
Liane Sadler // Traverso
Maya Webne-Behrman // Violin
Stephen Moran // Viola da gamba
Gabriel Smallwood // Harpsichord
Charles Burneys Europareise
Alte Kirche, Linnich-Körrenzig (DE)
Festival Fonte Vivace
Ensemble Das Kolorit
Sophia Schambeck, recorders
Leon Serafin Jänicke, theorbo and baroque guitar
Mariona Mateu Carles, violone in G
Gabriel Smallwood, harpsichord
Viola von der Burg, Recitation
Harpsichord Recital
Springer Clavier Collection, Weinheim-Hohensachsen (DE)
Recital on a Kirckman harpsichord from 1759
LOS VIAJES POR EUROPA DE CHARLES BURNEY
Iglesia de los Jesuitas, Segura de la Sierra (ES)
Música en Seguara
Ensemble Das Kolorit
Sophia Schambeck, recorders
Leon Serafin Jänicke, theorbo and baroque guitar
Mariona Mateu Carles, violone in G
Gabriel Smallwood, harpsichord
Irene Martín Guillén, Recitation
Discret et distrait
St. Mary's Church, Beverley (UK)
Beverley and East Riding Early Music Festival
Music by F. Couperin, J. Rameau and G. P. Telemann
pseudonym
Liane Sadler // Traverso
Maya Webne-Behrman // Violin
Stephen Moran // Viola da gamba
Gabriel Smallwood // Harpsichord
Discret et distrait
Finska kyrkan, Stockholm (SE)
Stockholm Early Music Festival
Music by F. Couperin, J. Rameau and G. P. Telemann
pseudonym
Liane Sadler // Traverso
Maya Webne-Behrman // Violin
Stephen Moran // Viola da gamba
Gabriel Smallwood // Harpsichord
Discret et distrait
Klosterkirche, Medingen (DE)
Tage der Alten Musik Medingen
Music by F. Couperin, C.P.E. Bach and G. P. Telemann
pseudonym
Liane Sadler // Traverso
Maya Webne-Behrman // Violin
Stephen Moran // Viola da gamba
Gabriel Smallwood // Harpsichord
Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo
Stiftskirche St. Georgen, Längsee (AT)
triagonale Festival der alten Musik
Oratorio by Emilio de’ Cavalieri (ca. 1550–1602)
Stage and artistic direction: Emile Ribokaite
Musical direction: Indre Kučinskaite, Gabriel Smallwood
Broken Colors
Concertgebouw Brugge, Kamermuziekzaal, Bruges (BEL)
MA Festival
Chamber Music from early 17th-Century Italy
pseudonym
Liane Sadler // Traverso
Maya Webne-Behrman // Violin
Stephen Moran // Viola da gamba
Gabriel Smallwood // Harpsichord, Organ
Solo Recital
Stiftskirche Herrenberg (DE)
Medieval music for organ and organetto
