Quarterly Critic’s Choice
The best and most interesting new releases of the previous three months are awarded a place on the Quarterly Critic’s Choice. Evaluation criteria are artistic quality, repertoire value, presentation, and sound quality. From 2014 onward, the Long Lists are stored directly with each Quarterly Critic’s Choice.
Orchestral Music & Concertos
Maximilian Steinberg: Symphony No. 3 in G minor op. 18
& Dmitri Shostakovich: The Bolt (suite from the ballet) op. 27a. Ural Youth Symphony Orchestra, Dmitry Filatov. Fuga Libera FUG 831 (Naxos)
Perhaps it takes the verve of a young generation to make a forgotten score sound so fresh and new. The work in question is the Third Symphony, composed in 1927/28, by Vilnius-born Maximilian Steinberg (1883-1946), a student – and later son-in-law – of Rimsky-Korsakov. The label has unearthed a treasure. The Ural Youth Symphony Orchestra plays with captivating precision and urgent intensity. And Shostakovich’s »Bolt« suite (1931), drawn from the ballet – which was a failure at its premiere, banned by the Soviets, and largely forgotten – is given vividly cinematic treatment. For the jury: Michael Kube
Orchestral Music & Concertos
Edward Elgar: Violin Concerto
Vilde Frang, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Robin Ticciati. Parlophone Records 5021732409423 (Warner)
Elgar wrote that his Violin Concerto »enshrined a soul«, alluding to an enigmatic love motif. The phrases of the slow movement, unfolding on a seemingly endless breath, provide a beguilingly intimate glimpse into the secret of Elgar’s music, which is extremely challenging on many levels. In the outer movements, which test the far limits of technical virtuosity, mastery is required on top of pure physical endurance. The flawless manner in which violinist Vilde Frang turns a touchstone into a masterpiece, with sparks of joy flying through her playing, is breathtaking. For the jury: Jörg Lengersdorf
Chamber Music
Franz Schubert: String Quartet Nr. 14 »Death and the Maiden«
& Iris ter Schiphorst: Sei guten Muts, Mark Andre: 7 pieces for string quartet. Kuss Quartett, Maurice Steger. Rubicon RCD1104 (harmonia mundi/Bertus)
It is rare to find such compelling dramaturgy in a programme of music that was written almost two centuries apart. The sonic contrast between recorder and string quartet is explored impressively, with a range of different playing techniques employed in Iris ter Schiphorst’s Schubert homage »Sei gutes Muts« (2021). In Mark Andre’s Seven Pieces (2022/23), the quartet creates a barely-perceptible, ghostly sound world. For the album’s centrepiece, Schubert’s quartet, the Kuss Quartet gets an extra star for its expressive, at times almost metallic playing. For the jury: Bernhard Hartmann
Chamber Music
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartets No. 2 op. 26 & No. 3 op. 60
Tanja and Christian Tetzlaff, Barbara Buntrock, Lars Vogt. Ondine ODE 1448-2 (Naxos)
The pianist Lars Vogt died much too young in 2022. In these posthumously-released recordings of Johannes Brahms’s Piano Quartets Nos. 2 and 3 (both among his less-performed works), Vogt again proves to be one of the most empathetic, colourful and skilled chamber musicians of recent decades. Together with his musical partners Christian and Tanja Tetzlaff and Barbara Buntrock, he created an album that will remain a benchmark long into the future, and will help to keep alive the memory of one of the greatest Brahms interpreters of our time. For the jury: Andreas Göbel
Keyboard Music
»Made in USA«
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in blue, Amy Beach: Variations on Balkan Themes, Samuel Barber: Piano Sonata op. 26, Earl Wild: 7 virtuoso Etudes. Claire Huangci. Alpha Classics 1071 (Naxos)
Made in the USA: Claire Huangci draws on the compositions of her home continent, North America. With Gershwin’s »Rhapsody in Blue«, the pianist gives her album a shimmer from the very first second, virtuosically blurring genre boundaries. Amy Beach’s »Variations on a Balkan Theme«, a transatlantic fusion of Macedonian folk melodies with American late romanticism, forms the centrepiece of this masterly production. Also included: stylistically complex works by Samuel Barber and Earl Wild’s Gershwin variations. Quality of the first class! For the jury: Marie-Theres Himmler
Keyboard Music
Bach: Trio Sonatas for Organ
Johann Sebastian Bach: Trio Sonatas BWV 525-530. Aart Bergwerff. 2 SACDs, Challenge Classics CC72992 (Bertus)
Aart Bergwerff has chosen an ideal instrument for this impressive showcase of Bach’s trio sonatas: the magnificent organ of the Hof- und Stiftskirche St. Gumbertus, in the Franconian town of Ansbach, built by Johann Christoph Wiegleb in 1739. He finds the perfect tempo for each movement, illuminating the depth of the slow middle movements with rich colours, transporting the listener into the heart of a spectacular spatial sound experience. Magnificent! For the jury: Martin Hoffmann
Opera
Christoph Willibald Gluck: Iphigénie en Aulide
Judith van Wanroij, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Cyrille Dubois, Tassis Christoyannis, Jean-Sébastien Bou, Les Chantres du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, Le Concert de la Loge, Julien Chauvin. 2 CDs, Alpha Classics 1073 (Naxos)
It is strange that nobody seems ever to have recorded of Gluck’s »Iphigénie en Aulide« on period instruments before. Le Concert de la Loge and its founder Julien Chauvin have finally done so. Their courage is rewarded. Their fast narritave pace and dramatic phrasing is augmented by a fabulous ensemble of singers, especially Tassis Christoyannis and Cyrille Dubois, who bring to life the inner turmoil of Agamemnon and Achilles. It is easy to hear why Gluck’s final breakthrough in Paris came with this opera: the immediacy, the naturalness, and ultimately the humanity are unfailingly impressive. For the jury: Michael Stallknecht
Opera
Jacques Offenbach: La Vie Parisienne
Anne-Catherine Gillet, Véronique Gens, Artavazd Sargsyan, Sandrine Buendia, Marc Mauillon, Jérôme Boutillier, Pierre Dermet, Choeur de l’Opera & Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Romain Dumas. 2 CDs with book, Bru Zane BZ 1057 (Naxos)
Ah, that eternally pulsating, enticing Parisian life! It was recently epitomised by Aya Nakamura’s scorchingly bold rap performance for the opening of the 2024 Olympics, with the band of the Republican Guard (!) swinging their hips while playing behind her – it was precisely this brazen, cheeky lust for life that Jacques Offenbach depicted in a stage whirlwind for the 1867 World’s Fair. This critically-restored, complete recording, made in Toulouse, is a highly entertaining listen, and it includes a number of pieces that were cut in 1866 and have rarely been performed since: erotic confusion, doused with musical champagne. For the jury: Wolf-Dieter Peter
Choral Music
Jeff Beal: The Salvage Men
& Samuel Barber: Reincarnations, Daniel Nelson: The New Colossus, Eric Whitacre: A Boy and Girl, Three Songs of Faith. Eric Ericson Kammarkör, Fredrik Malmberg. SACD, BIS Records BIS-2599 (Klassik Center Kassel)
When Swedes talk about the »Swedish choral miracle«, they don’t necessarily mean the Rundfunkchor. Its legendary director Eric Ericson founded his own professional chamber choir early on, training it to a similarly superb level. Ericson’s successor Fredrik Malmberg (2012 to 2024) has brought new impulses. His most recent recordings with the Eric Ericson Kammarkör form a fabulous trilogy of modern choral music. The most exciting discovery is probably Samuel Barber’s »Reincarnations«, which – thanks to Stockholm – is available here in the best recording of the work. For the jury: Wolfram Goertz
Lieder and Vocal Recital
»Sacro furore«
Antonio Vivaldi: Stabat Mater, Nisi Dominus, In furore, Concerti RV 129, 157 & 169. Carlo Vistoli, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Georg Kallweit. harmonia mundi HMM 902383 (harmonia mundi/Bertus)
Vivaldi’s biblical settings tend to be theatrical. With »Sacro Furore«, Carlo Vistoli demonstrates that they can be performed without contrived effects or egotism. In »Nisi Dominus«, »Stabat Mater« and a further motet, the countertenor combines sensuality and stylistic awareness. He does so with flawless virtuosity, astounding flexibility, and seamlessly adjustable intensity; his dark timbre has a touch of bitterness. The Berlin Academy for Ancient Music under Georg Kallweit makes the music sizzle. For the jury: Markus Thiel
Early Music
Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli: Violin Sonatas Op. 3 & 4
Il Rosario: Daniel Sepec, Hille Perl, Lee Santana, Michael Behringer. 2 CDs, Coviello Classics COV 92421 (Note 1)
Pandolfi Mealli published his extraordinarily imaginative and always-unpredictable violin sonatas in 1660. They form a link between Castello, Marini and Uccellini, on the one hand, and Schmelzer and Biber on the other. Since 1992, a number of violinists have championed these finds, but Daniel Sepec has now made a definitive breakthrough. He is particularly good at communicating the expressivity of the composer’s many unexpected turns of phrase, but also the poetry reflected in the wide range of timbres and nuances of articulation, along with the pure joy of making music. For the jury: Matthias Hengelbrock
Contemporary Classical Music
»Furrer 70«
Media box. A project by Klangforum Wien. Beat Furrer, Klangforum Wien and others. 6 CDs, 3 films, 2 books, Klangforum Wien 0658606291324 (direct distribution)
»Furrer 70« boasts a wealth of content – packed in an elegant box in many shades of grey, designed by Klangforum Wien. The internationally-renowned composer Beat Furrer co-founded the ensemble and was its conductor for many years. He and Klangforum Wien have selected and recorded 18 of his key works. Together with videos (interviews and footage of his life), texts, and a book list from Furrer’s library, this media box offers a comprehensive, in-depth insight into Furrer’s musical oeuvre and his world of thought and work. For the jury: Nina Polaschegg
Design/Foto: © Liza Borovskaya-Brodskaya, Mitzi Gugg, Jakob Mayr
Historical Recordings
Emanuel Feuermann – The Complete RCA Album Collection
Works by Brahms, Schubert, Canteloube, Fauré, Beethoven, Mozart and others. Emanuel Feuermann, Jascha Heifetz, William Primrose, Franz Rupp, Arthur Rubinstein, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy and others. 7 CDs, Sony Classical 19439977442
In the 1940s and 50s, many artists died young; the list includes Emanuel Feuermann, William Kapell, Ginette Neveu and Dinu Lipatti. All of them left behind recording projects that could no longer be realised. It is thus all the more gratifying that the last recordings of Emanuel Feuermann are available here in a single volume. After earlier records in Germany, Europe and Japan, valuable recordings were made in America with artists such as Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Jascha Heifetz and Arthur Rubinstein. There are no first releases, but the collection includes a rare recording of the litany »Dank Sei Dir, Herr« by Siegfried Ochs. For the jury: Stephan Bultmann
Crossover Productions
Joel Lyssarides & Georgios Prokopiou: Arcs & Rivers
CD/LP, ACT 9998-2 (Edel)
As is always the case with art that moves people, this music also has its origins in personal history. While searching for the roots of his Greek-Cypriot ancestors, Stockholm-based pianist Joel Lyssarides met bouzouki player Georgios Prokopiou, a musical partner who proved to be as virtuosic as he was eager to experiment. The two confidently combine jazz gestures with the spirit of Rembetiko, the Greek blues. Together they create a delicate mesh of sounds and rhythms that breaks the barriers between genres and enchants the listener. For the jury: Bert Noglik
Film Music
John Gürtler, Jan Miserre: The Outrun
Digital, Decca 0602475095095 (Universal)
John Gürtler and Jan Miserre repeatedly show how innovative and versatile film music can be. With their score for »The Outrun«, they pushed the boundaries of sound design by combining electronic club tracks with orchestral music, using rare instruments such as the Ondes Martenot and the Cristal Baschet. The mix of club tracks and orchestral elements runs through the entire soundtrack and recalls legendary scores from the 1960s and 1970s, where everything – from ethnic instruments to crazy effects – was combined. That’s exactly what makes the sound of Gürtler and Miserre so special. For the jury: Milena Fessmann
Music Film
DJ Mehdi: Made in France
Documentary series in 6 parts by Thibaut de Longeville. With DJ Mehdi, Pedro Winter, Mokobé, Kery James, among others. Stream, ARTE France
Musician and producer DJ Mehdi Favéris-Essadim, aka DJ Mehdi, was a key figure on the French music scene until his death in 2011. This superbly-edited documentary series shows how he used brilliant sampling and drum machine technology to bring banlieue rap into the charts, and how he later played a key role in bringing the influence of the »French Touch« into electro projects. The fact that the film allows time for substantial quotes from DJ Mehdi’s companions while also shedding light on his social background makes it a gripping testimony to recent pop music history. For the jury: Juan Martin Koch
Jazz
Al Jarreau & NDR Bigband: Ellington
CD/2 LPs, ACT 9060-2 (Edel)
It was in Hamburg that Al Jarreau’s European career really took off in the mid-seventies. It was also in this Hanseatic city that Al Jarreau entered a recording studio for the last time, a year before his death in 2017. This was followed by a tour with the NDR Bigband, with whom he had recorded an award-winning version of Gershwin’s »Porgy and Bess« in 1998. Jörg Achim Keller arranged the album’s swing settings of Duke Ellington’s music, bringing just the right sense of freedom to the vocal lines, as well as to the solo passages for the big band instrumentalists. In this live atmosphere, the mature voice and the rich orchestral sound are touching in this homage to Al Jarreau and Duke Ellington. For the jury: Lothar Jänichen
Jazz
Arild Andersen: Landloper
ECM Records 2826 (Universal)
For decades, the Norwegian Arild Andersen has been a fixture in international jazz. His bass-playing is immortalised on dozens of albums. By his late 70s, it was high time for the first solo album of his career. Andersen combines many playing experiences and inspirations from his long career in this album, which was recorded – mostly live – in Oslo. In addition to his own pieces, he presents impressive interpretations of music by Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden and Albert Ayler. His solos have both technical perfection and soul: hats off! For the jury: Matthias Wegner
World Music
Nesrine: Kan Ya Makan
Once Upon A Time. CD/LP, ACT 9986-2 (Edel)
Nesrine: Kan Ya Makan – Once Upon A Time. CD/LP, ACT 9986-2 (Edel)
Kan Ya Makan translates as »Once upon a time…«. However, cellist and songwriter Nesrine sings not about fairy tales, but rather about experiences from her family history. Her grandfather came to France from Algeria. She studied classical music, played under Daniel Barenboim and with Cirque de Soleil. She dabbled in jazz, and has now fully come into her own, singing in Arabic, French and English about farewell, insecurity, travelling and arriving, in love. These are smooth chansons with a touch of both Arabic silk and Mediterranean perfume. For the jury: Jodok W. Kobelt
Traditional Ethnic Music
Joolaee Trio: Morgenwind
gwk Records GWK 164 (Klassik Center Kassel)
The Joolaee Trio is made up of a renowned concert pianist, a master of the Persian kamancheh and a virtuosic percussionist; together, they explore musical worlds between East and West on their debut CD »Morgenwind«. The silvery tone of the bowed instrument and the full sound of the grand piano create an exquisite balance of sound, enriched by delicate drum rhythms and shimmering cascades from the marimba. In addition to deft arrangements of Persian and Turkish melodies, the focus is on original compositions, inspired by baroque fugue technique and oriental scales. For the jury: Tom Daun
German language Singer/Songwriters
Karl Neukauf: Karleidoskop Vol. 1
Timezone Records TZ2708 (Timezone Distribution)
Once you’ve heard it, you’ll never forget that voice: so deep and warm. And not only that; music, words and instruments unite into a single artform that is typical of Karl Neukauf on his fifth album. The title, »Karleidoskop«, is a play on his first name. The multi-talented Neukauf is also responsible for the recording, mixing, and editing. He is joined by guests with illustrious names: Franziska Günther and Danny Dziuk. Born in 1982 in the border zone near Kassel, the Berliner-by-choice writes »New Berlin Chansons« – not for the city of »hipsters and vegans«, but for the »Berlin of smokers and poets«. Bravo! For the jury: Petra Schwarz
Folk and Singer/Songwriters
Nadia Birkenstock: A Light So Bright
Adriana Records 0788364974808 (direct distribution)
The second Christmas album by singer and harpist Nadia Birkenstock takes listeners back to winter landscapes of the past. It includes lesser-known songs from Ireland, Wales, France and Germany, as well as her own compositions, which blend in seamlessly. The Celtic harp is not only played masterfully by Birkenstock, but also recorded impressively by Ralf Kleemann, capturing all its facets. The expressive singing and the fine arrangements do the rest to create a balanced work that combines a light, dancing quality with contemplative calm. For the jury: Almut Kückelhaus
Pop
Tindersticks: Soft Tissue
City Slang Slang50584 (Rough Trade)
Stuart A. Staples is searching for intimacy. For more than three decades, the singer and songwriter from Nottingham has been exploring the intricacies of pop with Tindersticks. It’s all about nuance, about gentle emotions and their strong musical echo. »Soft Tissue« continues this reflective and occasionally melancholy concept in a subtly harmonious way. A little soul, a few gospel-like vocal arrangements and the band dynamics, carefully arranged down to the smallest detail, expand the dark songs into a gentle, conciliatory programme. »Soft Tissues« is a pop embrace that does not forget to remain present in its closeness. For the jury: Ralf Dombrowski
Rock
Father John Misty: Mahashmashana
CD/2 LPs, Bella Union BELLA1622 (Rough Trade)
The title track of Father John Misty’s new (double) album »Mahashmashana« is a nine-minute pop Wagnerian Liebestod – lush, painful, melodically seductive. Rufus Wainwright is the only other musician with the courage for such orgiastic release in his refrains. It is a powerfully expansive, stylistically cohesive work that never breaks the connection to rock, but is repeatedly driven from the widescreen production into progressive rock spheres. The Father, who once again sings flawlessly, is particularly kind to his listeners this time. For the jury: Edo Reents
Hard and Heavy
Blood Incantation: Absolute Elsewhere
CD/LP/Digital, Century Media 19802802592 (Sony)
A triumph of retro-futuristic nerddom. Blood Incantation from Colorado worked meticulously on »Absolute Elsewhere« in Berlin’s Hansa Studios. Brian Eno was there, David Bowie of course, and also Tangerine Dream, whose leader Thorsten Quaeschning was quickly engaged by the quartet. The choice of recording location and contributors is not just a gesture of music history, but a concrete programme: otherworldly death metal brutality and electronic seventies space vibes create a richly pictorial sound cosmos that had remained uncharted until now. In space, someone hears her scream. For the jury: Thorsten Dörting
Alternative
Soap&Skin: Torso
CD/2 LPs, PIAS PIASD5095CD (Believe)
For years, Soap & Skin, aka Anja Plaschg, has been exploring the meaning of solemn silence in pop. She has repeatedly lent her unmistakable voice to others (for example, to Apparat) and incorporated the melodies of others into her own. »Torso« brings together cover versions that the Austrian has sung over the years, mainly live: hits like »Voyage, Voyage« by Desireless alongside historical pieces like »Pale Blue Eyes« by the Velvet Underground. Sometimes she straightens out warped songs like »Jonesburg, Illinois« by Tom Waits, sometimes she bends them out of shape even more beautifully, as she does with »Girl loves me« by the late Bowie. For the jury: Tobias Rüther
Club and Dance
Two Shell: Two Shell
Digital, Young YO352 (direct distribution)
Two Shell have created an album with their debut (»Two Shell«) that perfectly captures the spirit of the times: it is hedonistic, totally over the top, full of quotes and touching at the same time. The anonymous duo from Great Britain mixes genres from the UK continuum with pop starlet moments, cuts, and distorts, steering their music in the direction of avant-garde electronica. The sound design is ultra HD. Two Shell absorbs everything and makes it uncompromisingly its own. From the jumping rave kid to head-nodding Autechre connoisseurs – Two Shell appeals to all. For the jury: Cristina Plett
Electronic and Experimental
Pascal Plantinga: Das Volk ist ein fressender Kadaver
[The People Is a Devouring Carcass]. CD/LP/Digital, Blowpipe 9789059396760 (Broken Silence)
Pascal Plantinga is an unusual character in the Dutch music scene. His releases are rather sparse, with just five albums since 2003. He showed an adventurous proximity to German artists like Pyrolator (Der Plan), who has now also produced »Das Volk ist ein fressender Kadaver« (»The People Is a Devouring Carcass«), from early on. In fifteen fascinating songs, the man from Hilversum tells the story of an enlightened hula dancer, while musically redefining electro-jazz-punk; or he tells us that in these ominous times we might need someone like Kennedy again. For the jury: Olaf Maikopf
Blues and Blues-related
Warren Haynes: Million Voices Whisper
CD/2 LPs, Fantasy Records 00888072651777 (Universal)
The spirit of the legendary Allman Brothers Band blows through this excellent album, which Warren Haynes, with the help of Derek Trucks and John Medeski, has positioned at the intersection of Southern Rock, Blues, Soul and Funk. Eleven songs that let you drift along in relaxation, taking you to spheres where guitar duets don’t degenerate into skirmishes, but rather grow wings and leave you with a pleasant tingling sensation. Ten highlights are concluded by a final number that lasts almost ten minutes. What a party – and not just for guitar freaks! For the jury: Karl Leitner
R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop
Allysha Joy: The Making Of Silk
CD/LP/Digital, Légère Recordings LEGO 336 (Broken Silence)
Allysha Joy, with her striking, raw yet warm voice, her Fender Rhodes sound, and her complex yet catchy songwriting produced the album »The Making Of Silk« single-handedly. It is the Australian’s most personal oeuvre to date, and it makes it clear that she is one of the best singers and composers in contemporary soul jazz. This requires the kind of unique selling point that artists such as Erykah Badu, Cleo Sol or Nai Palm have. She has it too. In a blind test, Joy can be recognised immediately. The expression »she will go places« applies. For the jury: Michael Rütten
Spoken Word
Liquid Penguin Ensemble: Vokabelmeer
[A Sea of Vocabulary]. Stefan Merki, Katharina Bihler, music: Carl Ludwig Hübsch, Stefan Scheib, Wolfgang Schliemann, directors: Katharina Bihler, Stefan Scheib. Stream, SR/BR
»Vokabelmeer« (»A Sea of Vocabulary«) by the Liquid Penguin Ensemble (Katharina Bihler and Stefan Scheib) is an acoustic journey through the »Allgemeine Deutsche Glossarium« of the Basel scholar Johann Jakob Spreng (1699-1768). The audio play explores historical, biographical and tonal aspects of this etymological dictionary of the German language, which was begun in 1740. The Liquid Penguin Ensemble’s playful research lends the linguistic material rich resonance, and Spreng’s subjective and poetic neologisms become a radiophonic experience in the composition. For the jury: Michael Grote
Illustration: © Marie Kribelbauer / Generated with the help of AI
Recordings for Children and Youth
Kornelia Wald, Houssein Kahin: Die Tasche
[The bag]. Unabridged scenic reading. Mo Issa, Max Hegewald, Via Jikeli, Luise von Finckh, sound design: Valentin Rövenstrunck, director: Josef Ulbig. mp3-CD, Der Audio Verlag ISBN 978-3-7424-3300-8
This lesson in tolerance and prejudice shows how quickly targeted disinformation can create a life-threatening suspicion. Mohammed, a model student, is supposed to accept a diversity award – and considers it dishonest. It’s not immediately clear why, but you can sense that this story is heading for disaster – because of a forgotten bag. A brilliant debut from teacher Kornelia Wald and her former student Houssein Kahin. Director Josef Ulbig stages this exciting and absolutely credible story with young voices and a frighteningly good sound design. For the jury: Carola Benninghoven