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.
NEW: Long List 2/2024, published on 5th April 2024
Orchestral Music & Concertos
Dmitri Schostakowitsch: Symphony No. 7 C major op.60 (Leningrad)
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons. Orfeo C 852 121 A
Orchestral Music & Concertos
Wolf-Ferrari: Violin Concerto / Benjamin Schmid
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra D major op. 26, Orchestral Music from the Operas »Il campiello«, »Le donne curiose«, »L’amore medico« and »I quattro rusteghi«. Benjamin Schmid, Oviedo Filarmonia, Friedrich Haider. Farao classics B 108 069
Chamber Music
August Klughardt – Pleyel Quartett Köln
August Klughardt: String Quartet F major op.42, Piano Quintet G minor op.43. Pleyel Quartett Köln, Tobias Koch. CAvi-music 855 3248 (harmonia mundi)
Keyboard Music
Yevgeny Sudbin – Liszt, Ravel, Saint-Saëns
Franz Liszt: Funérailles, Études d’exécution transcendante Nos. 10 and 11, Tre Sonetti del Petrarca; Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit; Camille Saint-Saëns: Danse macabre. Yevgeny Sudbin. BIS Records 1828 (Klassik Center)
Keyboard Music
Johann Sebastian Bach: Complete Organ Works
played on Silbermann Organs. Ewald Kooiman, Ute Gremmel-Geuchen, Gerhard Gnann, Bernhard Klapprott. 19 SACD. Aeolus AE-10761 (Note 1)
Opera
Leonardo Vinci: Artaserse
Philippe Jaroussky, Franco Fagioli, Max Emanuel Cencic, Valer Barna-Sabadus, Concerto Köln, Diego Fasolis. 3 CD. Virgin Classics 509 9960 28692 5 (EMI)
Opera
Jacques Offenbach: Un mari à la porte
& Les fables de la Fontaine. Anaik Morel, Gabrielle Philiponet, Stéphane Malbec-Garcia et al. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko. Liverpool LP OFF CD00211 (Naxos)
Choral Music
Arnold Mendelssohn: Deutsche Messe op.89
& Motets for Christmas ops.90,5 & 90,9 & 90,10. SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, Frieder Bernius. Hänssler SACD 93.293 (Naxos)
Lieder and Vocal Recital
Romantic Arias – Christian Gerhaher
Opera Arias by Richard Wagner, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Otto Nicolai and Carl Maria von Weber. Christian Gerhaher, Maximilian Schmitt, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Daniel Harding. Sony 88725422952
Early Music
Arcangelo Corelli: Trio Sonatas
op. 4, Nos. 1-12, Rome 1694. Ensemble Aurora, Enrico Gatti. 2 CD. Glossa GCD 921207 (Note 1)
Contemporary Classical Music
Yann Robin: Vulcano, Art of Metal I, III
Alain Billard, Ensemble intercontemporain, Susanna Mälkki, IRCAM-Centre Pompidou. Kairos 0013262 KAI (harmonia mundi)
Historical Recordings
The Second Viennese School Project
Works by Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg, Anton Webern and Johann Strauss Sohn. Suzanne Danco, Rudolf Kolisch, Eduard Steuermann, Winfried Zillig, Else C. Kraus, Peter Stadlen, Tibor Varga, Vegh-Quartett, Berliner Philharmoniker, RSO Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay et al. audite 308 3643 (edel)
Crossover Productions
Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird: Bad Old Songs
Oriente Musik Rien CD 84 (Fenn Music)
Film Music
Danny Elfman: Frankenweenie
Walt Disney Records 2326922 (EMI)
Music Film
»Knowledge is the Beginning« (1999) & »The Ramallah Concert« (2005).
Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. A documentary by Paul Smaczny, recorded at Weimar, Buchenwald, Sevilla, Cordoba, Rabat, Genf, Ramallah and Jerusalem. 2 DVD. EuroArts 205 4338 (Naxos)
Music Film
Lucky Peterson Band featuring Tamara Peterson
Live at the 55 Arts Club Berlin. 3 DVD and 2 CD. Blackbird BR 201210 (soulfood)
Jazz
Grant Stewart: Live at Smalls
With Tardo Hammer, David Wong, Phil Stewart. Smalls Live SL 0029 (New Arts International)
Jazz
Heinz Sauer – Michael Wollny
Don’t Explain. ACT 9549-2 (Edel)
World Music
Criolo: Nó Na Orelha
Sterns Brasil STCD2023 (Rough Trade)
Traditional Ethnic Music
Urna: Portrait
The Magical Voice from Mongolia. Network Medien NM495137 (Membran)
German language Singer/Songwriters
Heike Kellermann: Beziehungs-weise
Conträr 973542 (Indigo)
Folk and Singer/Songwriters
Stockholm Lisboa Project: Aurora
Westpark Music WP 87235 (Indigo)
Pop
Bob Dylan: Tempest
Columbia 88725465412 (Sony)
Independent (until 2014)
Grizzly Bear: Shields
Warp 229 (Rough Trade)
Nu & Extreme (until 2014)
Jesse Boykins III & MeLo-X: Zulu Guru
Ninja Tune Zen CD 191 (Rough Trade)
Blues and Blues-related
B.B. King: Ladies & Gentlemen ...
Mr. B.B. King. 10 CD Edition, Universal 06007533-84992
R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop
Kendrick Lamar: good kid, m.A.A.d city
Interscope 0602537156535 (Universal)
Spoken Word
Erzählerstimmen: Die Bibliothek der Autoren
183 authors, 100 years of narrative in original sound. Edited by Christiane Collorio, Michael Krüger and Hans Sarkowicz. 44 CD. Der Hörverlag ISBN 978-3-86717-742-9
Recordings for Children and Youth
Nasreddin Hodscha, Paul Maar: Das fliegende Kamel
Paul Maar, Capella Antiqua Bambergensis et al. 2 CD. CAB Records CAB-14 (Oetinger) ISBN 978-3-8373-0669-9