This long-term edition of symphonies by Johannes Brahms and Antonin 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 encounter with these masterpieces becomes a sensual and intellectual adventure, sparking enthusiasm, amazement, and joy. Both the Bamberger Symphoniker’s concert programmes and their discography have long been marked by openness and a readiness to take risks, as displayed for example in their pioneering Mahler cycle, or the complete recordings of Schubert symphonies alongside works by Berio, Rihm, Widmann, and other contemporary composers. This production of the last symphonies by Brahms and Dvořák is not a confrontation, but places them in a new light- and continues the Bamberger Symphoniker and Jakub Hrůša’s dedicated championship of this repertoire.