Violinists Isabelle Faust, Sergey Khachatryan and Antje Weithaas have received awards for their recent recordings
The German Record Critics’ Awards (PdSK) have been granted for the third quarter of 2024. The awards are chosen by 156 critics, divided into 32 expert juries, who review new recording releases from the last three months. The categories include symphonic music, chamber music, opera, harpsichord music and word art, as well as jazz, folklore, heavy metal and hip hop, among others.
Top violinists featured among the latest award recipients. In the Orchestral Music and Concerts category, violinist Isabelle Faust won an award for her recording of the Britten Violin Concerto and chamber works. She performed alongside Boris Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Jakub Hrůša for the Harmonia Mundi recording.
’How familiar Ms. Faust has become with Britten’s sound language is shown above all by the very contrasting and nuanced presentation of the concerto,’ said jury member Lothar Brandt. ’She also shows the satirical side with great violin skill. Another plus is the highly attentive orchestra.’
The Chamber Music category featured violinists Sergey Khachatryan and Antje Weithaas. Khachatryan received recognition for his recording of Ysaÿe Six Solo Sonatas on naïve, with his playing described as containing ’such extremes with melodious violin daring. He never neglects the narrative element that is characteristic of all sonatas,’ according to jury member Benjamin Herzog.
Weithaas received an award for her recording of Beethoven Violin Sonatas Vol.III (nos. 1, 5, 6 & 10) with pianist Dénes Várjon on the Bertus label. Jury member Andreas Göbel described the album as a reference recording that no one should miss: ’Antje Weithaas and Dénes Várjon give the much-played works a new lease of life - exciting, well thought out, with the highest level of sound and interaction.’
The recognised recordings were taken from a ‘longlist’ pool of 280 albums across all categories. 28 titles were then selected as the best from the list.
The German Record Critics’ Awards Association was founded in 1963 and comprises music critics and journalists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The jurors publish their lists of recommended recordings every quarter, as well as awarding additional annual and honorary prizes.
Read: ‘He helped ignite my ambition’ - Antje Weithaas’s life lessons
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