Dans cette symphonie, JONAS ALBER ne cherche pas midi à quatorze heures. Son approche franche et énergique lui permet d’aller droit au but. Grâce à une direction claire, animée, mais sans effusion incontrôlée, JONAS ALBER offre à la tête de l’Orchestre National de Belgique une prestation convaincante et pleine d’ardeur. Elle aurait gagné à être davantage fignolée dans la précision des attaques et des interventions des solistes mais ces derniers auront plus d’une fois offert, au cours de la soirée, des moments de grâce.
ConcertoNet.com, Orchestre National de Belgique, Sibelius Symphony no.1 a.o.

ALBER is a hit with CBSO. The CBSO had clearly struck gold with their last-minute German substitute.
Birmingham Post, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Schumann Symphony no. 3 a.o.

Olivier Messiaen created his work, Turangalîla-symphony, as a symphony of love, as a  tonally sensual, mature piece for the orchestra with 68 strings, various winds, an extensive rhythm section, piano and the rare Ondes-Martenot. In Braunschweig’s Stadthalle, JONAS ALBER, Braunschweig’s General Music Director, conducted Braunschweig’s highly motivated State Orchestra in an evening’s premiere performance of this key work of modern music and, in so doing, aroused a huge surge of exultation in the audience –   unusual after a programme of contemporary music.
Braunschweiger Zeitung, Messiaen Turangalîla-symphony

Sheer mastery of a complicated score, subtle shaping of details and a vibrant build up to the climax – it was all there. Braunschweig can be congratulated on having such a young and talented conductor. The fact that an orchestra like the WDR Symphony Orchestra, used to the crème de la crème, should feel so inspired and motivated to follow the intentions of this conductor is further proof of his qualities.
Aachener Zeitung, Ravel Daphnis and Chloé

The WDR Symphony Orchestra was encouraged by Braunschweig's General Music Director JONAS ALBER who stood in for Marcello Viotti. In the complete ballet music of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé Alber conjured up opulent sonorities and the finest of shadings. On the one hand, he lent the mythological spectaculum in Ravel’s sophisticated alienation the magic of a supposedly undamaged world; on the other hand he lent it the terror of one distracted by barbarism.
Kölner Stadtanzeiger, Ravel Daphnis et Chloé

First the Ode to Joy in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony broke out from amongst the chorus, then the audience entered into raptures, and finally the sun came out: the Sunday open-air performances on the Burgplatz with the State Orchestra Braunschweig augured well. Here we must thank JONAS ALBER’s measured conducting with its clear aims. Braunschweig’s General Music Director aimed for contrast and terraced effects. The opening allegro was taken vehemently. In the second movement he let the struggle unfold, urging on quicker tempi a State Orchestra playing with great precision, before allowing the timpani salvos to reverberate. The third movement developed into a vision of heavenly peace. Wonderful the way the soft and weaving melodies intertwined. For just one final time we were jolted back into reality: from the low strings and troubled masses the joy motif was gradually worked up, this setting of Schiller’s text propounded by the chorus with enthralling clarity. Thus there came about under ALBER’s incisive conducting a terrific crescendo, the ardour of pure joy that was honoured by the elated audience.
Braunschweiger Zeitung, Beethoven Symphony no. 9

What music: Rich, monumental, and comparable to a cathedral of sound. To make recognisable this work, Berlioz' Requiem, in the beauty of its entirety, one needs a huge number of highly motivated choristers and highly qualified musicians, besides an excellent conductor. Remarkable how Braunschweig’s General Music Director JONAS ALBER directed, spurred on and controlled twelve choirs from our region, the Braunschweig State Orchestra and the Magdeburg Philharmonic. But it would be untrue to reduce the work and Alber’s direction to a bombastic performance. Many passages were formed by a wise step back and careful and pensive intervention.
Braunschweiger Zeitung, Berlioz Requiem

After the intermission Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6, the Pastoral, caused a sensation. The picturesque scenes of this ingenious work were conjured up by JONAS ALBER with an incomparable freshness. He presented Beethoven’s  preciousness with a maturity that seems unimaginable for such a young conductor.
(Helmstedter Zeitung, Beethoven Symphony no. 6, Pastoral

The two ballets by Igor Stravinsky The Firebird and The Rite of Spring remain a challenge for every orchestra. But conductor JONAS ALBER and the Braunschweig State Orchestra allowed the iridescent colours of the Firebird to glow, and were impressive in the stamping elemental force of The Rite of Spring.
Hannoversche Neue Presse, Stravinsky The Firebird and The Rite of Spring

Verdi was involved in the theatre enough to be well aware of how to make full use of the dramatic qualities in the Latin text of his Requiem. And JONAS ALBER, in turn, is an unparalleled magician of sound who knows how to use with great authority contrasts to effect. The orchestra followed him with just as much verve, allowing itself to be spurred on in the turbulent passages of the “Dies Irae” while knowing how to apply gentle restraint where more lyrical divination is called for.
Braunschweiger Zeitung, Verdi Requiem

The Fifth Symphony in C-sharp minor by Gustav Mahler was to be the major event of the evening. Notable just how much conductor JONAS ALBER had to identify himself with this work to get his musicians to produce greatest precision, dynamic range and all combinations of sound in all sections of the orchestra.
Deister- und Weserzeitung, Mahler Symphony no. 5

In the eighth symphonic concert JONAS ALBER and the Braunschweig State Orchestra produced that tension between motion and paralysis, between extensive melodic lines and densely united moments of greatest power. Alber took care of a perfect balance of sound and paid attention to an amazing transparency, without losing intensity at any moment. Precision and strictness were the impressive consequence.
Braunschweiger Zeitung, Bruckner Sinfonie no. 9

Hardly any other classical orchestral work is as well-known as the so-called “Symphony of Fate”. When listening to such works, it is only too easy to sit back in the comforting assumption that it will sound just as one would expect. JONAS ALBER’s interpretation, however, demands close listening. The conductor and orchestra breathe new life into this work, taking it to new heights again and again.
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, Beethoven Symphony no. 5

During the Symphonic Highlights, the General Music Director, JONAS ALBER, and the Braunschweig State Orchestra gave a lively performance of some well-loved pieces from their repertoire, never losing track throughout. Ample applause with jubilation for an orchestra in its element and for its Maestro.
Braunschweiger Zeitung, Symphonic Highlights – New Year's concert