ICMA AWARD

The jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) has announced the winners for 2026. The jury members selected from a list of nominations that included 307 albums and a wide range of artists and labels. The award in the chamber music category went to the world-renowned Pavel Haas Quartet for their album of Bohuslav Martinů's string quartets. This is also the first time in the history of the ICMA awards that a Supraphon album has won this award. Conductor Jakub Hrůša was named Artist of the Year.

The International Classical Music Awards are music awards that were first presented on April 6, 2011, replacing the Cannes Classical Awards and Midem Classical Music Awards. The jury is made up of representatives from major foreign media outlets and institutions and presents awards in a total of 25 categories.

Violinist Veronika Jarůšková commented on winning the ICMA award: "We are, of course, both happy and honored, not only for our quartet, to which we all devote ourselves with great energy, humility, and love, but also for the music of Bohuslav Martinů, which deserves to be played all over the world for its exceptional qualities." Conductor Jakub Hrůša commented on his award: "I am doubly delighted with this year's ICMA awards. As a chief conductor, what more could I wish for than for the Bamberger Symphoniker, which I have been leading for 10 years, to be recognized as a model of interpretative perfection. The award that I personally receive as 'Artist of the Year' is inseparable from my conceptual work with my beloved orchestras. Conductors always prove their quality together with orchestras, choirs, and soloists, with management, and in their own way with the audience in a shared inspirational harmony. That is my credo, and this award hopefully shows that it is the right one. And all this fills me with great inner joy.”

The winners will receive their trophies at a ceremony on March 18, 2026, at Keilberth Hall in Bamberg. The evening will also feature a concert in which several winners will perform together with the Bamberger Symphoniker under the baton of Jakub Hrůša.

The Pavel Haas Quartet will not attend the award ceremony as they will be on tour in the USA. Before flying across the Atlantic, the ensemble will give concerts in prestigious European venues such as the Stockholm Concert Hall, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam (String Quartet Biennale), Wigmore Hall in London, Teatro della Cometa in Rome, and Teatro Gayarre in Pamplona, Spain. After the American tour, the quartet will return to Europe and perform in Ulm, Germany, the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, Frauenkirche in Dresden, Musikverein in Vienna, and will once again be a guest at the Schubertiade in Hohenems, Austria. They will also visit British festivals in Newbury and Chipping Campden and a festival in Lofoten, Norway. Domestic fans will have a unique opportunity to enjoy the Pavel Haas Quartet as artists in residence at this year's Concentus Moraviae and Smetana's Litomyšl festivals and as guests at the Český Krumlov International Festival. In July, the ensemble will travel to Pyeongchang, South Korea. A complete overview of concerts is available HERE.