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
Mendelssohn: Symphonies 1 & 3 / Andrew Manze
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Symphonies Nos.1 op.11 & 3 op.56 (»Scottish«). NDR Radiophilharmonie, Andrew Manze. Pentatone PTC 5186 595 (Naxos)
Orchestral Music & Concertos
Weber: Complete Works for Clarinet
Carl Maria von Weber: Complete Works for Clarinet. Sebastian Manz, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Antonio Méndez, Martin Klett, Casal Quartett, Lars Olaf Schaper. 2 CDs Berlin Classics BC 0300835 (Edel)
Chamber Music
Frühwerke – Youthful Passion / Trio Rafale
Claude Debussy: Trio in G (1880); Dmitri Schostakowitsch: Klaviertrio c-moll op.8; Sergej Rachmaninow: Trio Élégiaque g-moll; Hans Werner Henze: Kammersonate (1948); Jannik Giger: Caprice (2013). Trio Rafale. Coviello COV 91703 (Note 1)
Keyboard Music
Fantaisies / Piotr Anderszewski
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Fantasie c-moll KV 475, Klaviersonate Nr.14 c-moll KV 457; Robert Schumann: Fantasie C-Dur op.17, Thema mit Variationen Es-Dur WoO 24. Piotr Anderszewski. Warner Classics 9029588855
Keyboard Music
Fortuna Desperata / Daniel Beilschmidt
Organ Music from Gothic and Renaissance. Works by Guillaume de Machaut, Philippe de Vitry, Adam Ileborgh von Stendal, Alexander Agricola, Antoine Busnois, Leonard Kleber, Paul Hofhaimer, Heinrich Isaac, Johannes Buchner and Sethus Calvisius. Daniel Beilschmidt, Veit Heller, Christine Mothes. Genuin GEN 17453 (Note 1)
Opera
Jean-Baptiste Lully: Persée 1770
Mathias Vidal, Hélène Guilmette, Katherine Watson, Cyrille Dubois, Le Concert Spirituel. Hervé Niquet. 2CDs Alpha ALP967 (Outhere/Note 1)
Opera
Étienne-Nicolas Méhul: Uthal
Karine Deshayes, Yann Beuron, Jean-Sébastien Bou, Sébastien Droy, Philippe-Nicolas Martin, Reinoud van Mechelen, Artavazd Sargsyan, Jacques-Greg Belobo, Chœur de Chambre de Namur, Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset. Palazzetto Bru Zane ES 1026 (Note 1)
Choral Music
Finland / SWR Vokalensemble, Marcus Creed
Jean Sibelius: Rakastava (1898/1912), Finlandia op.26,7; Einojuhani Rautavaara: Canticum Mariae Virginis, Canción de nuestro tiempo, Orpheus singt; Kaija Saariaho: Nuits Adieux; Jukka Linkola: Mieliteko; Riikka Talvitie: Kuun Kirje. SWR Vokalensemble, Marcus Creed. SWR Classic 19031CD (Naxos)
Choral Music
Johann Sebastian Bach: Johannes-Passion BWV 245
Maximilian Schmitt, Tareq Nazmi, Christina Landshamer, Anke Vondung, Tilman Lichdi, Krešimir Stražanac, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Concerto Köln, Peter Dijkstra. DVD, BR Klassik 900 515 (Naxos)
Lieder and Vocal Recital
Verismo / Krassimira Stoyanova
Arias from Operas by Giacomo Puccini, Andrea Cilea, Pietro Mascagni, Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano. Krassimira Stoyanova, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Pavel Baleff. Orfeo C 899 171 A (Naxos)
Early Music
Dieterich Buxtehude: Sonates en trio
Dieterich Buxtehude et.al.: Trio sonatas. La Rêveuse. Stéphane Dudermel, Florence Bolton, Benjamin Perrot, Emily Audoin, Carsten Lohff, Sébastien Wonner. Mirare MIR 303 (harmonia mundi)
Contemporary Classical Music
Salvatore Sciarrino: Un’immagine di Arpocrate
Giorno velato presso il lago nero. Tamara Stefanovich, Carolin Widmann, Chorwerk Ruhr, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Susanna Mälkki, Jonathan Nott. Neos 11626 (harmonia mundi)
Historical Recordings
Tatjana Nikolajewa – Prag Recordings 1951-1954
Tschechiche Philharmoniker, Konstantin Iwanov. 2 CDs, Supraphon SU 4216 (Note 1)
Crossover Productions
Theo Bleckmann: Elegy
Ben Monder, Shai Maestro, Chris Tordini, John Hollenbeck. ECM 2512 ( Universal)
Jazz
Richard Galliano
New Jazz Musette. Sylvain Luc, André Ceccarelli, Philippe Aerts. 2CDs Ponderosa CD 133 (Q-rious)
Jazz
David Murray & Aki Takase
Cherry – Sakura. Intakt CD 278 (harmonia mundi)
World Music
Aurelio
Darandi. Stonetree/Real World CDRW216 (pias/Rough Trade)
Traditional Ethnic Music
Nishtiman Project: Kobane
Kurdistan (Iran-Irak-Turquie) Hussein Zahawy, Sohrab Pournazeri, Ertan Tekin, Donya Kamali, Mayar Toreihi, Robin Vassy. Accords croisés AC 164 (harmonia mundi)
German language Singer/Songwriters
Johan Meijer
Dazumal – Europeana. Nederossi NOP 170106/6006393 (www.nederossi.com)
Folk and Singer/Songwriters
Seth Lakeman
Ballads Of The Broken Few. Cooking Vinyl. COOKCD644 (Sony)
Hard and Heavy
Kreator
Gods Of Violence. Nuclear Blast NB 3725-2 (Warner)
Alternative
Candelilla
Camping. Trocadero 136232 (Indigo)
Electronic and Experimental
Sampha
Process. XL/Beggars Group 134102 (Indigo)
Blues and Blues-related
Big Daddy Wilson
Neckbone Stew. Ruf Records RUF 1236 (in-akustik)
R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop
Omar
Love In Beats. Peppermint Jam / Freestyle Records PJCD026 (SPV)
Spoken Word
Fjodor Dostojewski: Verbrechen und Strafe
Walter Adler, Sylvester Groth, Swetlana Geier, 3CDs Der Audio Verlag ISBN 978-3-7424-0050-5
Recordings for Children and Youth
Michelle Cuevas: Kasimir Karton – mein Leben als unsichtbarer Freund
Ulrich Noethen, Anke Kuhl, Uwe-Michael Gutzschahn. 3 CDs Der Audio Verlag ISBN 978-3-7424-0002-4