Gramophone Magazine
April 2021
Editor's Choice

Anna Lucia Richter (mezzo), Bamberger Symphoniker, Jakub Hrůša

"When the Bamberg Symphony and their principal conductor Jakub Hruša went on tour in Germany with Mahler's Fourth Symphony in January 2020, no one would have thought that this symphony in particular would become a kind of ""symphony of fate"" of the year, for only two months later, the performance of major symphonic works was impossible for a long time after the ""corona lockdown"" in Germany, which hit cultural institutions particularly hard. The Bamberg Symphony were involved at an early stage in investigating the effects of making music together on the spread of the virus and helped to develop concepts for safe concert performances. This enabled their renowned Mahler Competition to take place in early July 2020, with Mahler's Fourth Symphony at its center. Even though it is the smallest Mahler symphony, these were the first symphonic performances after months, which then led to one of the first symphonic CD recordings in times of the pandemic - seated apart, but musically closer than ever. Recorded at Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal July 2020 A co-production with BR Klassik"

"I’ve never heard the forest murmurs at the heart of the first movement more hauntingly shadowed, with bold, lurid woodwind splendidly set against them as hobgoblins in the wood. And the amount of vibrato seems just right, especially in the Schubertian lyrical theme of the opening. It’s perfectly paced, like everything else." - BBC Music Magazine, May 2021.