After a Supersonic from Pizzicato and the nomination for the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) the production receives yet another important prize!

The quarterly and annual awards of the German Record Critics’ Award are sought-after prices in the German music scene. The winners of the quarterly awards are included in the Quarterly Critics' Choice ("Bestenliste") of the German Record Critics’ Award. The lists recommend new releases which merit special attention for the quality of interpretation and for their value to the repertoire. These lists provide a candid picture of new releases which, in the jury's opinion, are of outstanding importance when judged on purely artistic and audiophile grounds.

We are very happy about this distinguished award!

* "Bestenliste" PdSK
* Product
* Press pack
* Producer's Comment
* Press release
* 3D picture
* Cover picture

Nach zahlreichen anderen Auszeichnungen wie dem „Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik“, Diapason d’Or, Supersonic, Choc etc. gewinnt die Edition mit dem International Classical Music Award (ICMA) nun eine der wichtigsten Auszeichnungen der internationalen Musikszene.

Die ICMA sind die Nachfolge-Preise der MIDEM Classical Awards bzw. der Cannes Classical Awards. Anders als z.T. bei anderen Musikpreisen üblich besteht die Jury der ICMA ausschließlich aus professionellen Musikkritikern für klassische Musik. Redakteure von internationalen Print Medien, Radiosendern und Online Services stellen ihre Fachexpertise zur Verfügung und bewerten die eingereichten Aufnahmen. Derzeit besteht die Jury aus Redakteuren von Andante (Türkei), Crescendo (Belgien), Fono Forum (Deutschland), Gramofon (Ungarn), IMZ (Österreich), MDR-Figaro (Deutschland), Musica (Italien), Musik & Theater (Schweiz), Orpheus Radio (Russland), Pizzicato (Luxemburg), Resmusica.com (Frankreich), Scherzo (Spanien) und Viva Classica (Finnland).

Wir freuen uns über diese Auszeichnung daher ganz besonders, spiegelt sie doch die kenntnisreiche Wertschätzung unserer Produktion durch die Jurymitglieder!

Insgesamt wurden sieben audite-Produktionen für die ICMA nominiert, darunter die Neuproduktion mit Hideyo Harada, zwei Neuerscheinungen des Mandelring Quartetts und die historischen Veröffentlichungen mit Solomon, Fricsay, Ferras und Klemperer.

Die Preisverleihung erfolgt am 15. Mai in Nantes, Frankreich. John Axelrod dirigiert das Galakonzert, das live von France Musique übertragen wird.

Mehr Informationen zu den ICMA finden Sie hier.

Here more details about the hotlist and the productions:

Click here for critic's hotlist 2011 of the nmz

aud. 21.407 Ferenc Fricsay conducts Béla Bartok – The early RIAS recordings

aud. 21.406 Edition Sergiu Celibidache – The complete RIAS recordings

aud. 23.416 Kirsten Flagstad sings Wagner & Strauss

Besides news from the current music scene (premieres of contemporary music, jazz, pop) and reports on music education, the nmz presents reviews, reports and commentaries on new releases, cultural policy, music industry, staff appointments and general news from the German world of music. The nmz is considered an important voice of the German music scene. As an independent publication the neue musikzeitung (nmz) is issued ten times a year and has a print run of 23.000 copies per issue.

We are very happy about the awards from this noted music journal and the recognition of its knowledgeable critics!

On Thursday March 8 „The RIAS Bach Cantatas Project“ with Karl Ristenpart is presented in the program TonArt on WDR 3 (Western German Radio). Cellist Arabella Ristenpart, Ristenpart’s granddaughter, is the special guest of the program.

On March 8 at 15:05 PM Arabella Ristenpart will speak about the project of her grandfather on WDR 3.

The recordings of the Bach cantatas presented in this boxed set formed part of a project initiated by the conductor Karl Ristenpart at the RIAS Berlin in 1947. Although he was not able to record the complete cantatas as planned, the existing recordings nonetheless document a Bach ideal which was pioneering in its day: small-scale choral and orchestral forces, the professionalisation of interpretation in the choir, text-oriented articulation also for the soloists, and a fine balance between rhetorical succinctness and expressive performance.

Here you can find more information about the program and the production.

Bei Duo-Sonaten unter Beteiligung von Klavier und einem "solistischen" Instrument stellt sich immer die Frage, wie sehr sich dieses "solistische" Instrument zurücknimmt, an das Klavier anpasst, ein Miteinander zweier eigentlich gleichberechtigter Partner ermöglicht. Allzu oft wird Klavier mit "Begleitung" gleichgesetzt – während Violine, Cello oder ein Blasinstrument munter auftrumpfen. Ohne daran zu denken, dass zu dieser Sonate eben zwei gehören.In dieser Hinsicht spielt der kanadische Klarinettist Arthur Campbell auf dieser CD mit verschiedenen Werken für Klarinette und Klavier so vorbildlich, wie man es selten hört. Er hält sich in Klang und Gestus so sehr zurück, dass mancher Hörer, der den Fokus vor allem auf die Klarinette legt, von so viel Zurückhaltung enttäuscht sein könnte. Wer das Miteinander von Klavier und Blasinstrument verfolgt, wird dagegen begeistert sein. Campbell verschmilzt gleichsam mit dem Klang des Klaviers (Helen Marlais), woraus sich Interpretationen von beeindruckender Geschlossenheit ergeben. Selten hat man den brodelnden Unterbau in der Klavierstimme zu Schumanns Fantasiestücken op. 73 so deutlich wahrgenommen, selten wurden die Schumann'schen Stücke dabei so elegant und zart gespielt. Selten auch fügte sich die Klarinettenstimme in Debussys "Première Rhapsodie" so nahtlos in die impressionistischen Klavierklänge ein. Immer bleibt Campbells und Marlais Spiel exakt, elegant, ohne Übermaß. Die Schönheit dieses tatsächlich gemeinsamen Spiels ist so einnehmend, dass kaum mehr etwas zu fehlen scheint. Nicht einmal romantische Gefühlsausbrüche.

Shortly before his 87^th birthday the legendary singer, music teacher and author died. His impact and commitment for the art song in the 20^th century is outstanding.

Only in February audite released Fischer-Dieskau’s very first recordings of sacred works - the Karl Ristenpart production „The RIAS Bach Cantatas Project“.Fischer-Dieskau was personally looking forward to its release. Also his first recording of the “Winterreise” from 1948 was released at audite within a five part “Edition Fischer-Dieskau” just like a four part „Fischer-Dieskau Birthday Edition“ honouring his 85^th birthday. Many additional recordings with him were released on our label as well. He always followed the productions with interest.

We are happy that we were able to document a part of Fischer-Dieskau’s immense artistic legacy.

On May15 this year’s International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) were awarded in Nantes/ France. The audite edition “Ferenc Fricsay conducts Béla Bartók – The Complete RIAS Recordings” (aud. 21.407) won the award in the category historic recordings. The winners were introduced and honoured with a festive award ceremony and a top-class gala concert.

As the successors of the MIDEM Classical Awards the ICMA has been firmly established in a short period of time. The jury consists exclusively out of professional critics for classical music from international media. This guarantees the high level and the independency of the ICMA. Both makes the ICMA the most important international music award, a similar concept on international level cannot befound elsewhere.
Thus we feel particularly honoured to receive the ICMA!

Currently the jury includes critics from Andante (Turkey), Crescendo (Belgium), FonoForum (Germany), Gramofon (Hungary), IMZ (Austria), MDR-Figaro (Germany), Musica (Italy), Musik & Theater (Switzerland), Orpheus Radio (Russia), Pizzicato (Luxembourg), radio 100,7 (Luxembourg), Resmusica.com (France), Scherzo (Spain) and Viva Classica (Finland).

Picture from left to right: Guy Engels (ICMA, radio100,7), Ludger Böckenhoff (audite), Susanne Paulukat (Deutschlandradio Berlin), Rüdiger Albrecht (Deutschlandradio Berlin), Rémy Franck (ICMA, pizzicato)

Photo credits: ICMA/ Hoffmeister

This video provides impressions on the recording situation with the Mandelring Quartett.

... to works for flute is Ludger Böckenhoff currently during a recording for a new audite production:
"With Anne-Catherine Heizmann (flute) and Thomas Hoppe (piano) we are producing works by Poulenc, Dutilleux, Martin, Muczynski and Hindemith for this duo formation. The experiencesduring the recording sessions are a real joy both musically and personally andI am sure that the finished recording will attest to it, too!"

Following their successful complete recording of the fifteen string quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich, the Mandelring Quartett on audite now embark on their next extensive recording series: Mendelssohn - The Complete Chamber Music for Strings, including the Octet and the two Quintets (together with the Quartetto di Cremona and Gunter Teuffel), presented on four SACDs in total. The first volume of this new series features a youthful work by Mendelssohn as well as the early master works, Op. 13 and Op. 12.

Even if Felix Mendelssohn composed far fewer string quartets than Haydn, Beethoven or Schubert, they nonetheless embody a musical romanticism that appears in Novalis' Hymns and Eichendorff's Novellas: a whispering within nature, at times with dramatic agitation, permeated by deeply felt chants. And even the quartet in E flat major, written by the fourteen-year-old pupil of Carl Friedrich Zelter, the Berlin composer and consultant to Goethe, implies that Mendelssohn would imaginatively maintain the musical legacy.

This legacy had one name, first and foremost: Ludwig van Beethoven. Following his death in 1827, Mendelssohn composed his first mature quartet, Op. 13, which explores Beethoven's formal ideas but, entirely romantically, places the song "Ist es wahr?" at its centre. This work, as well as its successor, the quartet Op. 12 (the chronology of publication is the reason for the reverse numbering), proves to be formally highly advanced and reveals Mendels¬sohn as a sophisticated musical narrator - a facet which also attracted criticism from his contemporaries.

More information about the CD of the Week can be found here.
http://www.kulturradio.de/programm/musik/cd_der_woche/mandelring.html