Awards,
Schallplattenkritik Awards 2017
Established in 1963 to set the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in recorded music, the German Record Critics’ Annual Awards are among the most prestigious accolades in the European music industry. This year's winners were announced yesterday - read on for details of the classical victors (with thanks to my colleague David for translations from the German reviews!).
'[Manze's] secure feeling for the style, his music-making poised between spontaneous freshness and intellectual sophistication, and the all-embracing technical competence that underpins his interpretation all mark this recording out as exceptional.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Bernd Alois Zimmermann: Late Symphonic Works
Jan-Filip Tupa (cello), Sascha Reckert (glass harmonica) Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Bernhard Kontarsky
'Exemplary new recordings are coupled with historical ones, and supplemented with interviews and literature, forming a self-contained portrait of the composer that never ceases to surprise.'
Available Format: 3 SACDs
'A dialogue in chamber-music form - awake, dense and alive, characterised by simplicity and precision. The occasional glimpse of buffo spirit peeks through the notes.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'The four young musicians perform all of these compositions with a depth of vision, a furious, risk-taking virtuosity and great musical intensity.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'[Trifonov] brings Liszt's creation to life without it becoming mere musical painting. Much more, this pianistic bloodhound succeeds in finding new qualities of sound and colour in every bar of these groundbreakingly sophisticated Études.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Meyerbeer: Grand Opera (Limited Deluxe Edition)
Diana Damrau (soprano), Orchestre et Choeur de l'Opéra National de Lyon, Emmanuel Villaume
'With sparkling coloratura and authoritative command of texts in three languages, Damrau performs these eleven highlights from more than five decades with a knowing empathy.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Meyerbeer: Grand Opera (Standard Edition)
Diana Damrau (soprano), Orchestre et Choeur de l'Opéra National de Lyon, Emmanuel Villaume
'With sparkling coloratura and authoritative command of texts in three languages, Damrau performs these eleven highlights from more than five decades with a knowing empathy.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Falk has a wealth of different vocal colours - unsophisticated and natural, sometimes agitated, sometimes reserved - and Schleiermacher adds a shot of dialecticism to the Brecht settings.'
Available Format: CD
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
