SUPRAPHON / Sir Charles Mackerras statement

It is with great sadness that all of us at Supraphon have learned of Sir Charles Mackerras’s passing. We would like to express our deepest appreciation and gratitude for all the wonderful recordings Sir Charles made for Supraphon over the past more than three decades, the latest of which (Symphonic Poems by Dvořák) was named "Disc of the Month" by BBC Music Magazine in May 2010.

The co-operation between Sir Charles and Supraphon dates back to 1978 and since that time Supraphon has released dozens of recordings of operatic and symphonic works mainly by Dvořák, Janáček and Martinů, which Sir Charles instilled with his great musicality, wisdom and sense for the Czech spirit of the music he conducted. Sir Charles’s recordings have generally met with great critical acclaim and many have won prestigious international awards.

In April 2010, the Czech Minister of Culture expressed his appreciation of Sir Charles’s unceasing work in promoting the good reputation of Czech music by awarding him the Artis Bohemiae Amicis medal. At the beginning of October 2010, Sir Charles was scheduled to conduct the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra within a programme of Czech music (Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček, Suk, Martinů) to bid his final farewell to this orchestra, which he had known since his student days with Václav Talich and with which he collaborated for so many years. The orchestra, as well as his Prague audience and friends, will not see him any more, but we firmly believe that Sir Charles’s art will live on in his numerous recordings and continue to bring joy to all music fans.

It has been both a pleasure and a great honour to have been able to co-operate with the celebrated conductor who, at the same time, was a widely respected Czech music specialist. We will miss his contribution to the world as a human, as well as a great artist.