JB Gaddour

Compared to other European orchestras with centuries-old legacies, the relatively young Bamberg Symphony Orchestra has earned a reputation through its many tours and recordings. The ensemble was founded in 1946 by members of the Prague Deutsche Philharmonie, a wartime orchestra that only lasted from 1939 until 1945. The orchestra's principal conductors have been Joseph Keilberth (1940-1945, 1949-1968), Herbert Albert (1947-1948), Eugen Jochum (1948-1949, 1968-1973), James Loughran (1978-1983), Witold Rowicki (1983-1985), and Horst Stein (from 1985). Jonathan Nott took over the post in 2000.

This, combined with his rural background and commitment to the labour movement, played a major role in the development of his internationalist perspective. Often overlooked by historians, Chifley believed that the only way to avoid war and economic depression was through the establishment of international rules-based economic and collective security institutions. These were beliefs he had held since the early 1930s. Chifley was a prime minister with a keen interest in post-war Asia, who understood that the old colonial order was ending.

Bedrich Smetana's cycle Má vlast is not only the culmination of his symphonic output, it also occupies a unique position in Czech music and conveys a very special message of national character for Czech society. "Sublime", one reviewer called the remarkable live performance of Smetana's Ma vlast by an extended Collegium 1704 during the Prague Spring Festival of 2021. The Czech ensemble played on period instruments and thanks to the Czech conductor Václav Luks, Smetana's masterpiece is a "source of innovation, a living history that took listeners on a journey of pride and inspiration". The album can only be described in one way: a must for every music lover.

With Paranormal Musicality, JB Dunckel embraces free, delicate, and ambitious forms of piano improvisation. Filled with images of a world where nature pulses and breathes, these 18 instrumental pieces draw from everything the musician – a key figure in electronic music both in his solo career and as part of the French musical duo Air – has ever written and loved. The project is a celebration of the instrument that has accompanied him every day since childhood and a departure into unexplored realms.