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
Dvorák – Andris Nelsons
Antonín Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 E minor op. 95 »Aus der neuen Welt«, Heldenlied op. 111. Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Andris Nelsons. BR Klassik 900116 (Naxos)
Orchestral Music & Concertos
Schostakowitsch: Works for Cello – Emmanuelle Bertrand
Dmitri Schostakowitsch: Cello Concerto No. 1 op. 107, Sonata for Cello and Piano op. 40, Moderato for Cello and Piano. Emmanuelle Bertrand, violoncello, Pascal Amoyel, piano; BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Pascal Rophé. harmonia mundi HMC 902142
Chamber Music
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartets
op. 18,3 D major; op. 18,5 A major; op. 135 F major. Hagen Quartett. Myrios Classics MYR 009 (harmonia mundi)
Keyboard Music
Volodos Plays Mompou
Federico Mompou: Musica callada, Prélude VII & XII, Damunt de tu només les flors, Scènes d’enfants, Le Lac, … pour appeler la joie. Arcadi Volodos. Sony Classical 88765433262
Keyboard Music
György Ligeti, Dominik Susteck: Volumina – Organ Works
Two Etudes »Harmonies« & »Coulée«, Musica ricercata, Volumina, Sprachsignale. Dominik Susteck. Wergo WER 6757 2 (New Arts International)
Opera
Giuseppe Scarlatti: Dove è Amore è Gelosia
Lenka Macikova, Ales Briscein, Katerina Knezikova, Jaroslav Brezina, Hoforchester Schwarzenberg, Vojtech Spurny. DVD Opus Arte OA 1104 D / Blu-ray OA BD 7120 D (Naxos)
Opera
Vincenzo Bellini: Norma
Cecilia Bartoli, Su Mi Jo, John Osborn, Michele Pertusi, Orchestra La Scintilla, Giovanni Antonini. 2 CD. Decca 4783 517 (Universal)
Choral Music
Paul Hindemith
Apparebit repentina dies, Six chansons, Lieder nach alten Texten op. 33, Messe (1963). SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, Mitglieder des Radio-Sinfonieorchesters Stuttgart des SWR, Marcus Creed. Hänssler CD 93.295 (Naxos)
Lieder and Vocal Recital
Licht und Liebe
Franz Schubert: Lieder and Vocal Quartets. Marlis Petersen, Anke Vondung, Werner Güra, Konrad Jarnot; Christoph Berner, Klavier. harmonia mundi HMC 902130
Early Music
Conjuratio
Matthias Weckmann: Sacral Concertos Nos. 1-4. Maria Keohane, Carlos Mena, Hans-Jörg Mammel, Stephan MacLeod, Maude Gratton, Ricercar Consort, Philippe Pierlot. Mirare MIR 204 (harmonia mundi)
Contemporary Classical Music
Morton Feldman: Violin and Orchestra
Carolin Widmann, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Emilio Pomàrico. ECM New Series 2283 (Universal)
Historical Recordings
Leon Fleisher – The Complete Album Collection
With Leon Fleisher, Rudolf Serkin, Yo-Yo Ma, Benita Valente, Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell et al. 23 CD. Sony Classical 88725459972
Crossover Productions
Iva Bittová: Fragments I-XII
ECM 2275 (Universal)
Film Music
Clint Mansell: Stoker
Milan 3994562 (Warner)
Music Film
The Second Life. Karajan
A film by Eric Schulz. Deutsche Grammophon DVD 44007349830 (Universal)
Music Film
Sixto Rodriguez: Searching For Sugar Man
A film by Malik Bendjelloul. DVD 1706513 / Blu-ray 1706521. Rapid Eye Movies (Alive)
Jazz
Barbara Bruckmüller Big Band
Bicolorious Music BicoMR 2013-01. Self distribution:
Jazz
Sylvie Courvoisier – Mark Feldman Duo
Live At Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne. Intakt Records CD 210/2013 (harmonia mundi)
World Music
DaWangGang: Huang Qiang Zou Ban
Wild Tune Stray Rhythm. JARO 4312-2
German language Singer/Songwriters
Bernd Köhler & ewo2: Keine Wahl
Jump Up Records JU 30 (Plattenbau)
Folk and Singer/Songwriters
The Outside Track: Flash Company
Lorimer Records LORR CD 04 (New Music Distribution)
Pop
David Bowie: The Next Day
Columbia 88765461922 (Sony)
Nu & Extreme (until 2014)
DJ Koze: Amygdala
Pampa Records CD007 (Rough Trade)
Blues and Blues-related
Hugh Laurie: Didn’t It Rain
Warner Music 5053105713721 (Warner)
R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop
Tricky: False Idols
!K7 Records K7 308 (Alive)
Spoken Word
Daniel Kehlmann: Geister in Princeton
Radio play. Wolfram Berger, Wenzel Votava, Petra Morzé, Marcus Kiepe, Yuki Iwamoto et al. Argon ISBN 978-3-8398-1249-5
Recordings for Children and Youth
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Ein Sommernachtstraum
Die Taschenphilharmonie, Peter Stangel. Great music for small listeners. der Hörverlag ISBN 978-3-8845-1002-7
Opera
Christoph Willibald Gluck: Iphigénie en Aulide & Iphigénie en Tauride
Véronique Gens, Mireille Delunsch, Anne Sofie von Otter, Frédéric Antouin, Jean-François Lapointe et al., Les Musiciens du Louvre, Grenoble Chorus of de Nederlandse Opera, Marc Minkowski, Direction: Pierre Audi. 2 DVD Opus Arte OA 1099 D / Blu-ray OA BD 7115 D (Naxos)