DIAPASON D'OR DE L'ANNÉE

On January 16, 2026, the Diapason d'Or de l'Année award ceremony took place at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. The album featuring Smetana's Má vlast and other symphonic works, as performed by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Petr Popelka, won this significant award in the symphonic music category. The trophy was taken over by René Zavoral, Director General of Czech Radio, and Matouš Vlčinský, chief producer of the Supraphon label.

René Zavoral, Director General of Czech Radio, commented on the award: "I am really very happy about the prize. It is a prestigious award, an extraordinary honor for the symphony orchestra and for Petr Popelka himself. To a certain extent, it is also an honor for the Czech school of composition and for Bedřich Smetana." Supraphon's chief producer Matouš Vlčinský added: "Petr Popelka is a truly exceptional conductor who devoted an enormous amount of time and effort to the creation of this recording. Under his leadership, the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra has once again become one of the first-class orchestras."

The Diapason d’Or de l’Année is a prestigious award, the most important in the French-speaking world, presented by a jury composed of critics from Diapason magazine and France Musique radio station.