As winners of an ICMA award in the category Symphonic Music, Dmitrij Kitajenko and the Gürzenich Orchestra were honoured yesterday at the Philharmonie in Cologne. Kitajenko and the Gürzenich Orchestra won the award this year for their CD with the Second Symphony by Jean Sibelius, published on Oehms Classics.
ICMA President Remy Franck attended the concert in which Kitajenko conducted a Prokofiev & Scriabin program, and after the intermission he presented the trophy and the Award diploma to the conductor and the orchestra represented by its General Manager Stefan Englert and Georg Heimbach from the Musicians Committee.
Stefan Englert, Dmitrij Kitajenko, Remy Franck & Georg Heimbach
(c) Holger Taleinski
Here is the Jury statement for this award: « In Sibelius’ Second Symphony Dmitrij Kitajenko comes closer to the spirit of the score than a lot of other conductors, and his performance is one the most atmospheric and gripping available on disc. With extremely rich and differentiated textures, it breathes with stunning immediacy and impact. The playing of the Gürzenich Orchestra is superlative throughout. »
