Jan Bartoš, Jakub Hrůša, Bamberger Symphoniker - Ullmann, Prokofiev: Piano Concertos - Stravinsky: Symphonies of Wind Instruments (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Piano Concerto, Op. 25: I. Allegro con fuoco
02. Piano Concerto, Op. 25: II. Andante tranquillo
03. Piano Concerto, Op. 25: III. Allegro
04. Piano Concerto, Op. 25: IV. Allegro molto
05. Symphonies of Wind Instruments, K036
06. Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-Flat Major, Op. 10: I. Allegro brioso
07. Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-Flat Major, Op. 10: II. Andante assai
08. Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-Flat Major, Op. 10: III. Allegro scherzando

The new album by pianist Jan Bartoš, the Bamberger Symphoniker, and conductor Jakub Hrůša brings together three major figures of music in the first half of the 20th century: Viktor Ullmann, Igor Stravinsky, and Sergei Prokofiev. Its programme reveals not only the stylistic affinities between their works, but also the remarkable connections all three composers had with interwar Czechoslovakia and its vibrant musical life.

At the heart of the recording is Viktor Ullmann’s Piano Concerto, Op. 25 (1939), dedicated to the pianist Juliette Arányi. Its musical language combines impulses from the Second Viennese School with a rhythmic energy reminiscent of Stravinsky and Prokofiev. In 1942, Ullmann and Arányi were deported to Theresienstadt, where they became involved in the musical life of the ghetto. A planned performance of the concerto there never took place. In 1944, both were transported to Auschwitz and murdered; the work did not receive its world premiere until 1992, in Stuttgart.

The album is complemented by Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments and Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat major. Stravinsky visited interwar Czechoslovakia repeatedly, where his music found a strong response, notably from Václav Talich and Bohuslav Martinů. Talich was also an important advocate of Prokofiev’s music; in 1934, the composer himself performed his First Piano Concerto in Prague.