Jakub Hrusa

Fortune dealt Hans Rott a cruel hand. The Austrian composer, born in Vienna in 1858, struggled as a freelance musician and died at the age of twenty-five soon after succumbing to mental illness. Rott’s name lives on thanks to his Symphony No. 1 in E major and receives top billing in a new recording of the work by the Bamberger Symphoniker and its Chief Conductor Jakub Hrůša. They complete their programme with the Symphonic Prelude by Rott’s organ teacher Anton Bruckner and “Blumine” by his friend and fellow Vienna Conservatory student Gustav Mahler.

Oh, not another Dvořák Cello Concerto recording, you would be justified in asking. Well, yes and no. This is indeed a special one, but not only for the superb performance the German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser gives with the Prague Philharmonia under Jakub Hrůša of this most popular of all cello concertos. What makes this disc practically indispensable is its inclusion of the less frequently heard Lalo concerto in the best account I have heard since Pierre Fournier recorded it many years ago with Jean Martinon and the Lamoureux Orchestra for DG.

This long-term edition of symphonies by Johannes Brahms and Antonín Dvořák, performed by the Bamberger Symphoniker led by their chief conductor Jakub Hrůša, springs from a wish to stimulate a deliberate, interiorized and unbiased listening experience. Associating these two Romantic geniuses, bound by a unique friendship, in one edition enables a new viewpoint. It immediately becomes apparent that the two last symphonies of Brahms and Dvořák have more than their key in common - yet this also illuminates their differences.

The Bamberger Symphoniker and Jakub Hrůša’s cycle of the four Brahms symphonies and Dvořák’s last four symphonies is the first recording to give an overview of their extraordinary universe and cast light on their musical affinity, in a vivid soundscape with a contemporary pulse.

The Bamberger Symphoniker's collaboration with Tudor has evolved in cycles. It began with Joachim Raff's œuvre, a pioneering step into overlooked repertoire. Then stepped up to the Greats with Schubert's symphonies: the first recording to follow the new Schubert edition was enthusiastically hailed as a refreshing new departure interpreted with historical awareness. Reaching for the stars under the aegis of Jonathan Nott, the scores of Gustav Mahler then entered the Bamberg Konzerthalle. That whole cycle has won countless prizes and awards, becoming a milestone of Mahler discography. The next step? Staying in Vienna with symphonies by Johannes Brahms while remaining true to Gustav Mahler's Bohemian homeland with Antonín Dvorák.

The Bamberger Symphoniker and Jakub Hrůša’s cycle of the four Brahms symphonies and Dvořák’s last four symphonies is the first recording to give an overview of their extraordinary universe and cast light on their musical affinity, in a vivid soundscape with a contemporary pulse.

Star oboist Albrecht Mayer was praised by the press for his successful Baroque album »Tesori d'Italia«: »What makes Albrecht Mayer's musical treasures, tonal beauty and technical mastery so precious in these five treasures, is hard to beat.« (FonoForum). Now he presents his new recording Longing for Paradise, recorded with the Bamberger Symphoniker.

Stravinsky, Bartók and Martinů were established international figures when they wrote these works for violin, travelling across Europe as well as the United States. With the onset of World War Two, all three composers would ultimately emigrate because of their rejection of fascism. In an age of political upheaval and cultural displacement, each of them found an individual approach to reinventing the language of tonal music, laying down roots in the west without abandoning their Eastern European identities. While the Russian-born Stravinsky was experimenting with possibilities of modern violin technique in his concerto, Martinů took these efforts a step further in his Suite concertante by blending the sounds of his native Bohemia with the colours of French neo-classicism. In the Rhapsodies, Bartók turned to the folk music of Hungary and Romania.