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
Traditional Ethnic Music
Misagh Joolaee: Unknown Nearness
Pilgrims of Sound 4260187722447 (directly sales)
The abundance of vibrant treasures that can be coaxed from this inconspicuous string instrument is hard to believe! Amazed bewilderment grows from track to track, even for ears that experience Iranian sounds for the first time. It is only this uniquely treated Kamancheh that develops an intimate, unknown closeness – as if the music was recreated from its fundamental elements. A touch of a thousand and one nights, a micro-world of intonation, shades, and subtle bowing techniques: this journey between evening and morning, conjuring up old masters like Paco de Lucia and Parviz Meshkatian, is made real by a magician named Misagh Joolaee. For the jury: Jan Reichow