Jakub Hrůša and the Bamberg Symphony were victorious in this year’s Gramophone Awards, winning the Orchestra of the Year award.
Gramophone wrote:
“This year’s winning orchestra’s superb year was defined on record by a brilliant recording of Martinů’s complete symphonies on Deutsche Grammophon, our Recording of the Month in the July issue (and thus too late to be eligible for this year’s recording category awards). It’s a magisterial way to explore the music of the 20th-century Czech composer, and the breadth of music in these symphonies allows for a superb demonstration of just what an excellent ensemble today’s Bamberg Symphony is.
“David Gutman was the set’s reviewer: ‘Luminous and assured’ was his description of Chief Conductor Jakub Hrůša’s interpretation, crediting him with ‘never allowing Martinů’s dreamlike trajectory to falter … a release to cherish’. We had already anticipated that this combination of ensemble, conductor and repertoire would make for something special, and had commissioned Nigel Simeone to interview Hr≤a about this set before the review came in. Nigel wrote that he had ‘the sense that not only Hrůša but all of the Bamberg players have lived with these symphonies, understood their inner workings and grasped every aspect of Martinů’s elusive, unassuming but utterly captivating music.’ It’s both an impressive milestone for the music of Martinů and for the orchestra itself.
“(…)But its present, recording-rich era is a particularly fine one, owing much to its successful partnership with Hrůša, which formally began exactly 10 years ago, in early October 2016. As Hrůša asserts in our interview, this partnership continues to ‘deepen and intensify. We understand each other better and better.’ And, as a result, so do we, the listeners, better understand the music that they so brilliantly perform…An ensemble with historic roots looking to the future with nurturing vision, and with a deep commitment to recording – and as such, a thoroughly deserving winner of Gramophone’s Orchestra of the Year.”