The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field of music recording. Later on, it became closely linked to the German music industry's Deutsche Phono-Akademie e.V.; however, in 1980, the entire jury cut these ties and became an independent association. In 1988, in order to remain independent from commercial interests of the music industry, the jury officially registered as a non-profit organization, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik e.V. (PdSK e.V.).
In 2019 the German Record Critics' Award Association integrates 160 members who are actively involved in the assessment of recorded music and audio books, irrespective of format or medium (vinyl record, CD, DVD, download or streaming). Their mission is to provide producers, composers, artists and music lovers with an honest guide to new releases of true artistic significance.
To this end the association has established 32 juries, each one with five jurors, who cover a broad scope of musical genres: from opera and chamber music via jazz and rock to hiphop and heavy metal (see below). Each quarter of the year every one of these 32 juries nominates up to 15 productions which were released during the previous three months. These nominations cover a wide range of performers and works, newcomers and established artists, and they may include bestsellers as well as rare gems and little-known discoveries. All these nominees form the long-list for the "Quarterly Critics' Choice" (Bestenliste).
The jury panel consists of music critics, writers, musicologists and editors from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The members give their time voluntarily, alongside their professional jobs. They broadcast for public, private or online internet radio, they write for newspapers and specialized magazines, they do research on music history or work as DJs. They are not allowed to judge productions they were involved in.
A core value of the prize is its strict policy to keep its decisions unswayed by commercial interests. The Association is supported by the German Minister of State for Culture and the Media. In January 2018 the PdSK e.V. moved its office from Bonn to Berlin, into the "Maison de France" on Kurfürstendamm.
The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik is open to all productions and formats, regardless of the record company's size or country.
In addition to the "Quarterly Critics' Choice" (Bestenliste), once a year the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik honors ten outstanding productions with "Annual Awards“ (Jahrespreise) as well as three artists and producers for their special achievements with "Certificates of Honor" (Ehrenurkunden).
The "Quarterly Critics' Choice" (Bestenliste) is widely regarded as a guide to the best new releases, which are outstanding either for their quality of interpretation or creativity, or for their value to the repertoire. Productions are eligible in the following 32 categories:
Symphonic and Orchestral Music
Concertos
Chamber Music
Piano Music
Harpsichord and Organ Music
Opera I (up to 1800)
Opera II (Beethoven and later)
Choral (with and without orchestra)
Baroque and Pre-Baroque Music
Lieder and Vocal Recital
Historical Recordings
Contemporary Classical Music
Film Music
Spoken Word and Cabaret
Rock
Pop
Alternative
German language Singer/Songwriters
Folk and Singer/Songwriters
Traditional Ethnic Music
World Music
Jazz (traditional)
Jazz (Swing / Modern)
Blues and Blues-related
R&B, Soul & HipHop
Recordings for Children and Youth
DVD Productions (Opera & Ballet / Classical Music / Non-Classical)
René Jacobs is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera.
Jonathan Powell is a British pianist and self-taught composer.
Nelson José Pinto Freire was a Brazilian classical pianist. Regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his generation, he was noted for his "decorous piano playing" and "interpretive depth". His extensive discography for labels such as Sony Classical, Teldec, Philips, and Decca has garnered awards including the Gramophone Award and Diapason d'Or. Freire appeared as soloist with the world's most prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He played and recorded piano duo music with Martha Argerich, a long-time musical and personal friend.
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin in 1982. Each year Akamus gives approximately 100 concerts, ranging from small chamber works to large-scale symphonic pieces in Europe's musical centers as well as on tours in Asia, North America and South America.
Michel Godard is a French avant-garde jazz and classical musician. He plays tuba and the predecessor of the tuba, a brass instrument known as the serpent.
Christiane Oelze is a German operatic soprano. From 2003 to 2008, she taught singing at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf. Since 2010 she taught at the Masterclass of Apeldoorn (Netherlands), since 2011 at the Musik Academy in Arosa and since 2012 at IRCAM in Paris.
Bejun Mehta is an American countertenor. He has been awarded the Echo Klassik, the Gramophone Award, Le Diamant d’Opera Magazine, the Choc de Classica, the Traetta Prize, and been nominated for the Grammy Award, the Laurence Olivier Award, and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Writing in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Michael Stallknecht called him "arguably the best counter tenor in the world today."
Navega is the debut album by the Cape Verdean musician Mayra Andrade, released in 2006. It is sung in Cape Verdean Creole language. The title means "Sail".
Stória, stória... is the second album by the Cape Verdean musician Mayra Andrade, released in 2009.
Stockholm Lisboa Project is a Portuguese/Swedish folk music band.
Robert Stephen Hill is an American harpsichordist and fortepianist. From 1990 to 2018 he was "Professor of Historical Keyboard Instruments, Performance Practice and Chamber Music" at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, Germany, and he now serves as the “Eugene D. Eaton Jr. Chair in Baroque Music Performance” and teaches harpsichord at the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music, in the United States.
Elizabeth Farr is an American classical harpsichordist.
Frieder Bernius is a German conductor, the founder and director of the chamber choir Kammerchor Stuttgart, founded in 1968. They became leaders for historically informed performances. He founded the Stuttgart festival of Baroque music, "Internationale Festtage Alter Musik", in 1987, and is a recipient of the Edison Award (1990), Diapason d'Or (1990) and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1993).
audite Musikproduktion is an independent classical music record label run by recording engineer Ludger Böckenhoff. Founded in Stuttgart in 1973, AUDITE merged with the Fermate label in 2000, relocating to Detmold in the process, where it is still based today. AUDITE Musikproduktion is an international provider of classical music sound carriers.
Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli, also Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli Jr. is an Italian conductor, nephew of famous Italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.
Les Paladins is a French instrumental and vocal ensemble specialising in the performance and recording of rarely performed Baroque music. It was founded in 2001 and takes its name from Rameau's opera Les Paladins. The ensemble's founder and conductor is the baritone singer and harpsichordist, Jérôme Correas.
Matthias Kaul was a German percussionist and composer of classical music.
Sunhae Im is a South Korean soprano. She has been described as a bright and versatile lyric soprano with lightness and coloratura. She first gained her reputation in the field of early music and now performs a wide range of classical and non-classical music.
The Armida Quartet, named after the eponymous opera by Joseph Haydn, is a German string quartet. The ensemble includes Martin Funda (violin), Johanna Staemmler (violin), Teresa Schwamm (viola) and Peter-Philipp Staemmler (violoncello).
Friedrich Haider is an Austrian conductor and pianist.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
