In the association Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics’ Award), music critics and journalists from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have come together to award outstanding music and spoken word productions.

Current Winners

  • Music Film
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Music Film

    Dancing Pina

    A film by Florian Heinzen-Ziob Blu-ray, mindjazz pictures 6422680 (Alive)

    Mehr
  • Contemporary Classical Music
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Contemporary Classical Music

    Gérard Grisey: Dérives

    WDR Symphony Orchestra, Katrien Baerts, Kora Pavelić, Sylvain Cambreling, Emilio Pomàrico. bastille musique bm024 (rudi mentaire distribution)

    Mehr
  • Recordings for Children and Youth
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Recordings for Children and Youth

    Markus Orths: Crazy Family

    The Hackebarts clean up! Stefan Kaminski. 2 CDs, Hörcompany ISBN 978-3-96632-076-4

    Mehr
  • Hard and Heavy
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Hard and Heavy

    Night Demon: Outsider

    CD/LP, Century Media Records 19658761462 (Sony)

    Mehr
  • Club and Dance
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Club and Dance

    Surgeon: Crash Recoil

    2 LP/Digital, Tresor Records Tresor.351 (direct sales)

    Mehr
  • Jazz
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Jazz

    Richie Beirach: Leaving

    (A Solo Piano Concert). Jazzline D 77126 (Broken Silence)

    Mehr
  • Blues and Blues-related
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Blues and Blues-related

    Eric Bibb: Ridin’

    CD/2 LP, Dixie Frog DFGCD 8840 (Indigo)

    Mehr
  • Choral Music
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Choral Music

    Ligeti: Complete Works for Choir

    György Ligeti: Complete Works for a cappella Choir. SWR Vocal Ensemble, Yuval Weinberg. 2 CD, SWR Classic SWR19128CD (Naxos)

    Mehr
  • German language Singer/Songwriters
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    German language Singer/Songwriters

    Jan Degenhardt: Inshallah

    Sturm & Klang Musikverlag S+K 076 (Alive)

    Mehr
  • Rock
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Rock

    Bob Dylan: Shadow Kingdom

    CD/2 LP, Sony Music 19658767492

    Mehr
  • Opera
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Opera

    Francesco Cavalli: L’Egisto

    Marc Mauillon, Sophie Junker, Zachary Wilder, Ambroisine Bré, Romain Bockler, Le Poème Harmonique, Vincent Dumestre. 2 CD, Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS076 (Note 1)

    Mehr
  • Electronic and Experimental
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Electronic and Experimental

    IzangoMa: Ngo Ma

    CD/LP/Digital, Brownswood Recordings BWOOD0291 (Rough Trade)

    Mehr
  • Opera
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Opera

    Eugen Engel: Grete Minde

    Raffaela Lintl, Zoltán Nyári, Kristi Anna Isene a.o., Opera Choir of the Theatre Magdeburg, Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Anna Skryleva. 2 CD, Orfeo C260352 (Naxos)

    Mehr
  • Historical Recordings
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Historical Recordings

    The Art of Erica Morini

    Works by Peter Tschaikowsky, Max Bruch, Wolfgang Amadeaus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, César Franck, Giuseppe Tartini a.o.. Erica Morini, Igor Kipnis, Albert Fuller, Felix Galimir a.o., Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin a.o.. 13 CD, Deutsche Grammophon 0028948632558 (Universal)

    Mehr
  • Chamber Music
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Chamber Music

    Haydn: String Quartets op.33

    Joseph Haydn: String Quartets op.33 No. 1-3. Chiaroscuro Quartet. SACD, BIS Records BIS-2588 (Klassik Center)

    Mehr
  • Keyboard Music
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Keyboard Music

    Fantasy. 7 Composers. 7 Keyboards

    Works for keyboard instruments by Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, Wolgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, Frédéric Chopin, Ferrucio Busoni, Alfred Schnittke. Alexander Melnikov. harmonia mundi HMM 902702

    Mehr
  • Keyboard Music
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Keyboard Music

    Flamboyant Bien-Aimé: Le clavecin de Louis XV

    Harpsichord works by Jean-Philippe Rameau, Claude Balbastre, Gabriel Dubuisson, Jacques Duphly a.o.. Clément Geoffroy. Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS108 (Note 1)

    Mehr
  • Orchestral Music & Concertos
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Orchestral Music & Concertos

    Saint-Saëns: Poèmes Symphoniques

    Camille Saint-Saëns: Bacchanale from »Samson et Dalila«, Phaéton, La jeunesse d’Hercule, Le rouet d’Omphale, Danse macabre. Basel Symphony Orchestra, Ivor Bolton. Prospero PROSP 0060 (Note 1)

    Mehr
  • R&B, Soul and HipHop
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    R&B, Soul and HipHop

    Peter Fox: Love Songs

    CD/Digital, Warner 5054197645785

    Mehr
  • Lieder and Vocal Recital
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Lieder and Vocal Recital

    Contra-Tenor

    Arias by Jean-Baptiste Lully, Georg Friedrich Händel, Antonio Vivaldi, Leonardo Vinci, Nicola Porpora o.a.. Michael Spyres, Il pomo d’oro, Francesco Corti. Erato 5054197293467 (Warner)

    Mehr
  • Orchestral Music & Concertos
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Orchestral Music & Concertos

    Takemitsu: Spectral Canticle

    Tōru Takemitsu: Spectral Canticle; To the edge of dream; Vers, l’arc-en-ciel, Palma; Twill by twilight. Jacob Kellermann, Viviane Hagner, Juliana Koch, BBC Philharmonic, Christian Karlsen. SACD, BIS Records BIS-2655 (Klassik Center)

    Mehr
  • Folk and Singer/Songwriters
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Folk and Singer/Songwriters

    the Young’uns: tiny notes

    CD/LP, Hudson Records HUD036 (Rough Trade)

    Mehr
  • Traditional Ethnic Music
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Traditional Ethnic Music

    Driss El Maloumi: Aswat

    CD/LP, Contre-Jour cj038 (Broken Silence)

    Mehr
  • Early Music
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Early Music

    A German Baroque Requiem

    Works by Andreas Scharmann, Johann Hermann Schein, Christian Geist, Andreas Hammerschmidt a.o... Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier. Ricercar RIC 445 (Note 1)

    Mehr
  • Spoken Word
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Spoken Word

    Ingrid Lausund: Am nebenan

    Monologues for the Home. Lina Beckmann, Matthias Brandt, Fritzi Haberlandt, Jens Harzer, André Jung, Bjarne Mädel, Bastian Pastewka, Angelika Richter, Sophie Rois, Bettina Stucky, Katrin Wichmann, Michael Wittenborn, directed by Bjarne Mädel. mp3-CD, speak low ISBN 978-3-948674-16-8

    Mehr
  • Jazz
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Jazz

    Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily: Love In Exile

    CD/2 LP, Verve 0060202448967640 (Universal)

    Mehr
  • World Music
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    World Music

    Samuel Blaser: Routes

    CD/LP, enja & yellowbird 7835 (Edel)

    Mehr
  • Chamber Music
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Chamber Music

    Beethoven: Complete Violin Sonatas Vol. 1

    Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonatas op. 12/2, op. 24, op. 47. Antje Weithaas, Dénes Várjon. CAvi 8553512 (Bertus)

    Mehr
  • Crossover Productions
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Crossover Productions

    Christopher Dell: Monodosis III

    CD/LP/Digital, edition niehler werft enw 015 (direct sales)

    Mehr
  • Film Music
    Quarterly Critic’s Choice
    03/2023
    Film Music

    Daniel Pemberton: Spider-Man

    Across The Spider-Verse (Original Score). Digital, Sony Classical G0100050589533

    Mehr

We strive for independent judgments, untouched by the interests of producers and the music industry. With currently 32 specialist juries we cover the entire, diverse spectrum of genres, from symphonic music to opera to harpsichord music and spoken word, from jazz to folklore and heavy metal to rock and hip-hop. We publish Quarterly Critic’s Choices honoring the best new releases and also present Annual Awards and Honorary Awards, as well as the »Nachtigall« (Nightingale).

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News

Marita Emigholz
19.09.2023

Marita Emigholz

The PdSK mourns the loss of music journalist and jury colleague Marita Emigholz.

Mahler: Symphony No. 2
18.09.2023

Mahler: Symphony No. 2

Full house: The Quartet of Critics with moderator Olaf Wilhelmer give a guest performance at Berlin Philharmony

Schedule

  • 27.09.2023
    Publication

    Annual Awards 2023

  • 05.10.2023
    Publication

    Long List 4/2023

  • 15.11.2023
    Publication

    Quarterly Critic’s Choice 4/2023

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