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 1/2026, published on 5th January 2026
Orchestral Music & Concertos
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Paavo Järvi. Alpha Classics 1127 (Naxos)
Since 2019, Paavo Järvi has been principal conductor of The Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. Prior to that, though its collaboration with David Zinman, the orchestra had long been associated with Mahler. As this recording shows, Järvi and the Tonhalle Orchestra are ideal partners. Their Mahler is detailed and suspenseful, balancing power and agility without exaggerating the stark contrasts. This interpretation flows briskly. It is rich in contrast, transparent and without pathos. Despite all its lush beauty, it never loses narrative tension. For the jury: Peter Stieber
Orchestral Music & Concertos
Shostakovich: The Piano Concertos
Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, Solo Works for Piano. Yuja Wang, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons. Deutsche Grammophon 486 6956 (Universal)
Yuja Wang combines nuanced dynamics with unbridled virtuosity, ignites a pyrotechnic display of contrasts in Shostakovich’s piano concertos, as well as in a selection of preludes and fugues, shifting between lyrical depth and sardonic intensity. With the excellent Boston Symphony Orchestra under Andris Nelsons, she delivers a subtle performance, infused with buoyant levity and electrifyingly fast motoric drive. This is a benchmark contribution to the Shostakovich memorial year. For the jury: Norbert Hornig
Chamber Music
Pierre Boulez: Livre pour quatuor
Quatuor Diotima. Pentatone PTC 5187 360 (Naxos)
Pierre Boulez: Livre pour quatuor. Quatuor Diotima. Pentatone PTC 5187 360 (Naxos)
Like Beethoven’s late string quartets in their time, Pierre Boulez’s »Livre pour quatuor« has the reputation for being unplayable. But while Beethoven’s works are now mainstream, Boulez’s string quartet remains a challenge. Quatuor Diotima, a French quartet which worked with Boulez in person, presents a playful version here: a reading of this »book« that conveys its atomised and highly-condensed language with extreme clarity. With Philippe Manoury’s completion of the fourth movement, it is presented here in its entirety for the first time. For the jury: Benjamin Herzog
Chamber Music
Unraveled: Homage to Maurice Ravel
Works by Maurice Ravel, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Mikel Urquiza, Joan Pérez-Villegas. Kebyart. Linn CKD 779 (Naxos)
This album seems provokative: for the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, the Spanish ensemble »Kebyart« has found a way to approach the composer without a single one of his original works – hardly surprising, given that Ravel never wrote anything for saxophone quartet. Despite, or perhaps because of this, the two works by Ravel included here shine with surprising tonal sophistication, given fresh and wonderfully ironic illumination through time travel both backwards and forwards, with the inclusion of Rameau and two contemporary works. A pleasure of the highest order. For the jury: Andreas Göbel
Keyboard Music
Beethoven: Bagatelles & Variations
Ludwig van Beethoven: Bagatelles & Variations, Op. 33, 76 & 119, WoO 53, 65 & 80. Michael Korstick. cpo 555 564-2 (JPC)
Michael Korstick is one of the leading Beethoven interpreters of our time. This selection of piano variations and bagatelle cycles once again highlights his uncompromising combination of rigorous accuracy, brusque conciseness and an emotional intensity that seems to recall Beethoven’s »holy wrath«. In the aphoristically-pointed bagatelles, he offers insights into Beethoven’s bipolar psyche, oscillating between sensitivity and unbridled emotion. This album underscores Korstick’s special expertise in Beethoven’s musical message. For the jury: Attila Csampai
Keyboard Music
Bach: Arrangements & Transcriptions
Johann Sebastian Bach: Arrangements & Transcriptions for Organ. Jean-Baptiste Dupont. 2 CDs, Audite 97.834 (Naxos)
Jean-Baptiste Dupont’s album of Bach arrangements of Bach (his own and other people’s) is strongly influenced by the Cavaillé-Coll organ at Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. But the instrument does not tempt him into indulgence. He articulates with gusto and confidently exploits the instrument’s dynamics. His arrangement of the Chaconne is particularly impressive for its simultaneously pianistic and symphonic attitude, maximally expressive at all times. His two versions of Bach’s six-part Ricercar are pure luxury – and the playing is lively and animated throughout. For the jury: Friedrich Sprondel
Opera
Antonio Salieri: Cublai, Gran Kan de’ Tartari
Mirco Palazzi, Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani, Marie Lys, Äneas Humm, Fabio Capitanucci, Giorgio Caoduro, Ana Quintans, Lauranne Oliva, Chœur de chambre de Namur, Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset. 2 CDs, Aparté AP379 (harmonia mundi/Bertus)
The rumour that he was only a second-rate composer has stuck to Salieri’s posthumous reputation like glue. Fortunately, Christophe Rousset decided a quarter of a century ago to become Salieri’s prophet. Since then, he has rehabilitated five of his operas. Cublai Gran Kan is the sixth: a political satire brimming with brazen, Buffo-style buffoonery, but also with sparkling opera seria coloratura and brilliant ensembles. Unfortunately, the revival production in Vienna a year ago was overshadowed by silly staging ideas. Rousset went into the studio with largely the same cast to make the recording. And proves that this piece belongs on stage! For the jury: Eleonore Büning
Opera
Sergei Prokofiev: War and Peace
Andrei Zhilikhovsky, Olga Kulchynska, Arsen Soghomonyan and many others, choir and orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera, Vladimir Jurowski, director: Dmitri Tcherniakov. Blu-ray/2 DVDs, Bayerische Staatsoper Recordings BSOREC2006 (Naxos)
Tolstoy’s monumental work is virtually impossible to transfer to the opera stage. Compositionally, it has been achieved – and now also in practice by the team at the Bavarian State Opera. In a single stage set, an enormously versatile imitation of Moscow’s ’House of Trade Unions’, Tcherniakov shows us moving individual destinies, attempts at normality and the mass misery of all war-time reality. Jurowski brings out the full range musical of the work. The impressively-differentiated ensemble, with over 40 soloists, is uniformly captivating. This recording is a worthy commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Prokofiev’s death. For the jury: Wolf-Dieter Peter
Choral Music
Bach: Mass in B minor
Johann Sebastian Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV 232. Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon. harmonia mundi HMM 902754.55
A mass as a gripping drama: you can experience it here. Raphaël Pichon and his ensemble Pygmalion focus on the credo of Bach’s Mass in B minor: a thriller for the ears, often martial in tone, concluding with resurrection that feels weightless. The Kyrie serves as a contemplative introduction, the Holy Spirit sweeps through the Gloria, and the Sanctus is true music of the heart. Pichon chooses brisk tempi, and the result is extremely lively and transparent, often with a dance-like lightness, full of vivid colours. Even a piece from the repertoire can still astonish us. For the jury: Susanne Benda
Lieder and Vocal Recital
Johannes Brahms: Lieder
Christian Gerhaher, Gerold Huber. Sony Classical 19802897352
Sometimes, as with »Sehnsucht« (»Yearning«), it only takes 45 seconds: Johannes Brahms tells of a lost treasure, and Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber open up new worlds. In this album, they tackle on delicate repertoire: the folk tone of the songs is deceptive. What appears to be simplicity reveals a harsh, dark complexity beneath the surface. Few others can feel this so deeply and express it so musically. In the microscopic density of their interpretations and their captivating reflection, they convey dark premonitions. Often, these are more forceful than direct statements could ever be. For the jury: Markus Thiel
Early Music
Gulliver’s Travels
Georg Philipp Telemann: Music for strings (sonatas, Concerto à 4, Trietto, Gulliver Suite). Capricornus Consort Basel, Péter Barczi. Christophorus CHR 77482 (Note 1)
In his »Gulliver Suite« for two violins without bass, Telemann pokes fun at the compositional and notational conventions of his time. This humorous showpiece is contrasted by the touching seriousness of the three quintets for strings and basso continuo presented here. In between are two quartets and two trios. The Capricornus Consort Basel plays everything with an exceptional beauty of tone, deep emotionality, and joyous playing – spirited yet never exaggerated. An extraordinarily convincing plea for the diversity and originality of Telemann’s chamber music! For the jury: Matthias Hengelbrock
Contemporary Classical Music
New Recorder Concertos
Recorder concertos by Samir Odeh-Tamimi, Liza Lim, Dai Fujikura, Iris ter Schiphorst. Jeremias Schwarzer, Bamberg Symphoniy Orchestra, Ensemble Resonanz, Munich Chamber Orchestra, SWR Symphony Orchestra. New Focus Fcr430 (direct distribution)
Often relegated to the corner as a beginner’s instrument, the recorder has long since found its place in contemporary music, mostly in the experimental and improvisational realm. For years, Jeremias Schwarzer has devoted himself to new compositions for his instrument. Together with four different ensembles, he present works by four composers share certain aspects of virtuosity, yet remain very different in design. They provide an insight into the diverse possibilities of the recorder, especially as the works pursue starkly contrasting aesthetic approaches. For the jury: Nina Polaschegg
Historical Recordings
Eugene Ormandy: The RCA Victor Recordings 1935-1942
Kirsten Flagstad, Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, Emanuel Feuermann, Arthur Rubinstein, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy. 21 CDs, Sony Classical 9658771062
Eugene Ormandy’s discographic legacy is as impressive as the conductor’s decades of loyalty to his orchestra. This series of CD boxes contains his highly-acclaimed early recordings with the Philadelphia Orchestra for RCA Victor from 1935 to 1942. The repertoire focuses on Russian composers, Richard Strauss, Jean Sibelius and contemporary American composers. Among the impressive list of soloists, Louis Spohr’s violin concerto with Albert Spalding stands out. For the jury: Stephan Bultmann
Crossover Productions
Savina Yannatou, Primavera en Salonico, Lamia Bedioui: Watersong
ECM 2773 (Universal)
Songs from several continents, performed with great versatility by accomplished world musicians, muse upon water as the source of life. The lyrics and music offer insights into heterogenous cultural associations with water. Joy and suffering, magic and spirituality are linked to water. In the end, the performers build a bridge between East and West by combining the spiritual »Wade in the Water« with the Egyptian song »Allah Musau«, which is about Moses and his God. A work of confidence through unity in diversity. For the jury: Heinz Zietsch
Music Film
The Alchemy of the Piano
A film by Jan Schmidt-Garre. Francesco Piemontesi, Alfred Brendel, Ermonela Jaho, Jean-Rodolphe Kars, Stephen Kovachevich, Antonio Pappano, Maria João Pires and others. DVD/Blu-ray, Naxos 2.110778 / NBD0186V
How can pianists produce nuances of musical expression? Their instrument is »only« a collection of mechanical hammers. »Alchemy« is the answer given by pianist Francesco Piemontesi. He visits renowned performers like Pires, Pappano, and Kovacevich. They reveal the secret behind their magical symbiosis of human and piano: voice and colouring, imagined texts, stretched fingers, posture, religious belief – and even the question of whether the hands actually matter when playing the piano. At the end, a legacy: the last lesson is with Alfred Brendel. For the jury: Thorsten Lorenz
Jazz
Tobias Wiklund: Inner Flight Music
CD/2 LPs, Stunt Records STUCD 25062 (in-akustik)
The stylistic range and variety of moods in his compositions are enormous. In the early days of jazz, the instrument was ubiquitous. And probably no one today plays the rare cornet as expressively and soulfully, as unmistakably, touchingly and beguilingly as the Swede Tobias Wiklund. Wiklund’s album is about spiritual awakening, the relationship between man and God, and the omnipresence of love – music by a deeply spiritual musician who glows from within and lets the spark fly. For the jury: Marcus A. Woelfle
Jazz
Anouar Brahem, Anja Lechner, Django Bates, Dave Holland: After The Last Sky
CD/2 LPs, ECM 2838 (Universal)
The interwoven voices blend into a beguiling mix. With pianist Django Bates, Dave Holland on bass and cellist Anja Lechner, who is wonderfully integrated into the circle of familiar faces, Tunisian oud player and composer Anouar Brahem finds a fascinating symbiosis of Arabic tradition, European romanticism and innovative improvisation. In the no-man’s-land between cultures, dream and memory, a music which recalls the tragedy of Gaza blossoms. This great lament evokes respect for life with sublime beauty. A masterpiece. For the jury: Bert Noglik
World Music
Fanfare Ciocarlia & Adrian Raso: The Devil Rides Again
Asphalt Tango Records 0008725ATR (Indigo)
Saxophones, trumpets and tubas form the homogeneous Roma sound machine of »Fanfare Ciocarlia«. Wind instruments (plus percussion) from rural Romania meet Canadian guitarist Adrian Raso in »Film Noir« guise; Balkan umpapa merges with twang guitar and banjo. Django Reinhardt fan Raso writes swing, twist, rock and »stomp«. Sometimes a tuba solo tramples, while Steve Winwood’s rocking »I’m A Man« hops as if over cobblestones. We meet a polka version of Dolly Parton’s pleading »Jolene« – these are wonderfully endearing cross-border encounters with slower tempos than those of the ensemble’s previous CD. For the jury: Johannes Theurer
Traditional Ethnic Music
Assafir: Traversées
Digital/CD, Rakomelo 15509648 (direct distribution)
Loss and rapprochement in the eastern Mediterranean; »Travesèes« (crossings) between Turkey and Greece; this loving summary, full of beauty and tragedy, was produced by the acoustic sextet Assafir in Paris, in six languages. The ensemble is made up of traditional instruments – qanun, oud, clarinet, accordion, and darabuka – with a string trio as guests. The styles shift with soothing calm. Improvisations feature quarter tones, inspired by Turkish arabesque and Greek dance. At times moving: the powerful voice of Clémence Gabrielidis. In summary: A celebration. For the jury: Johannes Theurer
German language Singer/Songwriters
Johan Meijer: Ohneland Blues
[Blues without a country]. Nederossi NOP250318 (direct distribution)
Johan Meijer, born in the Netherlands in 1951, grew up in Germany. Fatherland? Motherland? Homeland? »Vielland« (»Manyland«)? Meijer sees himself as a European, discovering and singing songs from other countries. He was awarded the German Record Critics’ Prize in 2011 for »Europeana«. Meijer knows no cultural or linguistic boundaries and says: »I’ve never been able to get used to borders.« His latest CD, »Ohneland Blues« (»Blues without a country«), takes listeners from Elten to Frankfurt and Rome to Babel. It is a plea for openness and tolerance, which are more important than ever in these times. For the jury: Hans Reul
Folk and Singer/Songwriters
Liederjan: Es macht ja auch Spaß
[It’s also fun]. Digital, Westpark Music 4015698625325 (Indigo)
Liederjan is a German folk legend. The band was formed 50 years ago, co-founder Anselm Noffke died in 2003, and Jörg Ermisch is still with the band today. Their 25th album is now available. It forms an impressive summation of the qualities which made the trio famous, and which continue to define it today: an unmistakable mixture of folk and songwriting, with traditional and original lyrics, humorous, sharp-tongued and socially critical. It is a piece of living cultural history that amuses while encouraging critical thinking; all charmingly-rendered with Liederjan’s typical eclectic instrumentation and distinctive vocal harmonies. Bravo! For the jury: Jo Meyer
Hard and Heavy
Ghost: Skeletá
CD/LP/Digital, Loma Vista Recordings 0888072667853 (Universal)
With »Skeletá«, Ghost has once again created a sonically and conceptually multi-layered work. The band unfolds a work of dark dramaturgy, oscillating between baroque pathos and metallic force. Lyrically, motifs of transience and spiritual turmoil pervade the album, while orchestral arrangements and numinous choirs create an almost liturgical character. »Skeletá« is not a pure metal album; is a musical ritual, combining intellectual depth with theatrical opulence. For the jury: Boris Kaiser
Club and Dance
JakoJako: Tết 41
LP/Digital, Mute iSTUMM513 (Alive)
Tết 41 is a subtle, quietly moving album. This is not entirely unusual for the »Club and Dance« category, but it is rather unusual nonetheless. JakoJako, alias Sibel Koçer, sensitively opens a door to the inside and, at the same time, to the outside, to the vibrant air of Vietnam during the Tết festival. Between feverish synths, the Berghain resident artist draws us in and makes us feel light and uplifted as we listen; searching, longing, completely present. Field recordings translate the experiences, the sights and the festival into JakoJako’s language: electronic music. For the jury: Nastassja von der Weiden
Electronic and Experimental
Bella Wakame
Bella Wakame. LP/Digital, Umor-Rex UR155 (Morr Music Distribution)
It’s extraordinary how drummer Andi Haberl (The Notwist) and electronics engineer Florian Zimmer (Driftmachine) create such dense sounds and richly-layered music with their reduced set of instruments. The fact that it’s extremely entertaining is the icing on the cake for the Berlin duo’s debut album. You can hear subtle influences from Neu!, Can and the Japanese project World Standard, but the way everything flows together is uniquely fresh. Ten tracks pulsate loosely and powerfully, with small experimental soundscapes flashing in and out before ultimately blossoming into vibrant song structures. For the jury: Olaf Maikopf
Blues and Blues-related
Big Dave & The Dutchmen
Big Dave & The Dutchmen. Naked NP 103 (Broken Silence)
Sometimes albums appear that are wonderfully timeless, with a musical content which is not subject to any fads or trends, and yet (or perhaps precisely because of this) immediately touch the listener’s heart. David »Big Dave« Reniers and his Dutchmen have achieved just that with this production. The band loves the kind of Chicago blues that was played a good 60 years ago, and they bring a great era of blues that has almost been forgotten back to life. Authentic? Yes. Old-fashioned? No. This is blues with depth; music that caresses the soul. For the jury: Karl Leitner
R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop
Adja: Golden Retrieve Her
LP/Digital, Sdban Ultra SDBANU44 (Alive)
With her debut album, Brussels-based musician and theatre-maker Adja Fassa has created one of those special moments when extraordinary art seems to emerge from nowhere. Complex compositions and arrangements combining jazz, gospel, soul, rock and blues define the songs on this consistently superb album. Superlatives? Yes, sometimes. And while there may be parallels to the work of Erykah Badu or Lianne La Havas, Adja Fassa has created a world of expression that is truly one of a kind. For the jury: Michael Rütten
Recordings for Children and Youth
Liz Kessler: Geheimname Eisvogel
[Secret name Kingfisher]. Inka Löwendorf, Natalia Belitski, Simona Pahl, Benito Bause. mp3-CD, sauerländer audio ISBN 978-3-8398-4435-9 (Argon Verlag)
Liz Kessler’s profound narrative about the era of German fascism, told from a variety of different perspectives, is impressive. Kessler skilfully links the fictional rescue of Dutch-Jewish children from certain death by the intrepid Hannie with the present day. In the present, Liv discovers her connection to Hannie through her exploration of her demented grandmother’s past, and finds courage herself. This sensitive reading underscores the moving story, which leaves an important echo in today’s world, where right-wing radicalism once again threatens to become the norm. For the jury: Yvonne Höft & Astrid Henning-Mohr