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.

Quarterly Critic’s Choice

Orchestral Music & Concertos

Haydn 2032 – Vol.6: Lamentatione

Joseph Haydn: Symphonien Nr. 3 G-Dur Hob. I:3, Nr.26 d-moll Hob. I:26 »Lamentatione«, Nr. 30 C-Dur Hob. I:30 »Halleluja« & Nr. 79 Hob. F-Dur I:79 Kammerorchester Basel, Giovanni Antonini. Alpha 678 (Note 1)

Orchestral Music & Concertos

Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No.2 »The Age of Anxiety«

Krystian Zimerman, Berliner Philharmoniker, Simon Rattle. Deutsche Grammophon DG 483 5539 (Universal)

Chamber Music

Boulanger Trio – Tschaikowsky / Juon

Paul Juon: Litaniae op.70; Peter Tschaikowsky: Klaviertrio op.50. Boulanger Trio. CAvi 8553401 (harmonia mundi)

Keyboard Music

Claude Debussy: Préludes du 2ieme Livre, La Mer

Alexander Melnikov, Olga Pashchenko. harmonia mundi HMM 902302

Keyboard Music

César Franck: The Organ Works

Ben van Oosten. 4 CDs, Dabringhaus & Grimm MDG 316 2080-2 (Naxos)

Opera

Antonio Salieri: Les Horaces

Judith van Wanroij, Cyrille Dubois, Julien Dran, Jean-Sébastien Bou, Philippe-Nicolas Martin, Andrew Foster-Williams, Les Chantres du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset. 2 CDs, Aparté AP185 (harmonia mundi)

Opera

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

Gerald Finley, Julia Bullock, Brindley Sherratt, Samuel Sakker, Andrew Staples, Jennifer Johnston, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams. 2 CDs, Nonesuch 7559 79310 7 (Warner)

Choral Music

Luca Marenzio: L’Amoroso & Crudo Stile

Ensemble Rossoporpora, Walter Testolin. Arcana A449 (Note 1)

Lieder and Vocal Recital

Debussy: Harmonie Du Soir

Claude Debussy: Mélodies. Sophie Karthäuser, Stéphane Degout, Eugene Asti, Alain Planès. 2 CDs, harmonia mundi HMM 902306.07

Early Music

Buxtehude: Abendmusiken

Dietrich Buxtehude: Kantaten BuxWV 10, 34, 41, 60 und 62; Triosonaten BuxWV 255, 267, 272. Ensemble Masques, Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier. Alpha 287 (Note 1)

Contemporary Classical Music

Malin Bång: Structures of Light and Spruce

Curious Chamber Players, Ume Duo, Karin Hellqvist. Neos 11817 (harmonia mundi)

Historical Recordings

Quartett Rosé

Works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luigi Boccherini, Johannes Brahms, Luigi Cherubini, Frédéric Chopin, Karl Goldmark, Joseph Haydn, Pietro Nardini, David Popper, Pablo de Sarasate, Achille Simonetti, Richard Strauss. Arnold Rosé, Rosé-Quartett, Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Alwin. Podium Legenda POL-1011 (Klassik Center)

Crossover Productions

Victoria Hanna: VH

Greedy for Best Music GBM 004 (Indigo)

Music Film

Leonard Bernstein at Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival 1988

Teaching, Performing, Lectures and Master Course. Wiener Philharmoniker, Justus Frantz, Leonard Bernstein. DVD/Blu-ray CMajor 746608/746704 (Naxos)

Music Film

Open Land – Meeting John Abercrombie

A film by Arno Oehri & Oliver Primus. John & Lisa Abercrombie, Adam Nussbaum, Gary Versace, Ric McCurdy. DVD, ECM 602567511366 (Universal)

Jazz

Erroll Garner: Nightconcert

Mack Avenue Mac 1142 (in-akustik)

Jazz

Günter Baby Sommer: Baby’s Party

Guest: Till Brönner. Intakt CD303 (harmonia mundi)

Traditional Ethnic Music

Sokratis Sinopoulos: Under the Rose Tree

Tunes from the Greek Musical Traditions. Saphrane S 62619 (Galileo)

German language Singer/Songwriters

Alexander Scheer & Band: Gundermann – Die Musik zum Film

BuschFunk 00672

Folk and Singer/Songwriters

Les Poules À Colin: Morose

Steeplejack Music SJCD020 (in-akustik)

Hard and Heavy

Mantar: The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze

Nuclear Blast NB 4466-0 (Warner)

Alternative

Anna Calvi: Hunter

Domino Records WIGCD354 (Goodtogo)

Electronic and Experimental

Helena Hauff: Qualm

Ninja Tune ZENCD253 (Rough Trade)

Blues and Blues-related

Henrik Freischlader Band: Hands On The Puzzle

Cable Car CCR 0311-51

Spoken Word

Norbert C. Kaser: meine floete trinkt musik

Tobias Moretti, Otto Lechner, Peter Rosmanith, Linda Wolfsgruber. Klangbuch mit 1 CD, Mandelbaum Verlag ISBN 978-3-85476-568-4

Recordings for Children and Youth

Kirsten Boie: Thabo – Detektiv & Gentleman. Der Nashorn-Fall.

Radio play by Angela Gerrits with music by Jan-Peter Pflug. With Alma Bahr, Julia Bareither, Lientje Fischold, Julian Greis, Peter Kaempfe, Felix Lengenfelder, Katharina Matz, Jonathan Ohlrogge, Marko Pauli, Uli Pleßmann, Martin Seifert, Uta Stammer, Jürgen Uter, Benjamin Utzerath. Jumbo ISBN 978-3-8337-3947-7

Open