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Brackman Trio wins Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik

The Brackman Trio has won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik with the CD Discovering Roslavets I. Silver Night.

From the jury report:
Behutsam, genau, expressiv – in allen Richtungen zeigt sich das niederländische Brackman Trio extrem. Töne, die bis zum Zerfallen leise werden können, heißer Überschwang, alles so, als sei die Musik noch nie gespielt worden. Tatsächlich ist Nikolai Roslavets noch immer zu entdecken. Sein Trio von 1925, in dem sich Gesten der Spätromantik in autarker Nachtonalität auflösen, verbindet perfekt die Aufbruchswerke des 17-jährigen Schostakowitsch und des 25-jährigen Schönberg, dessen »Verklärte Nacht« (1899) in der Klaviertriofassung, so sensibel, wie sie hier gespielt wird, auch eine sternenklare Nacht ist.

More info about the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik
More info about the CD Discovering Roslavets I. Silver Night

Attentive, precise, expressive – the Dutch Brackman Trio achieves superlatives in every respect. Sounds that fade away to nothing, hot-headed exuberance, everything played as if the ink were still wet on the page – it’s all there on this album. In truth, even today, Nikolai Roslavets’s music is a discovery. His trio from 1925, in which late Romantic gestures dissolve into post-tonal self-sufficiency, is a perfect piece to combine with the work of 17-year-old Shostakovich and 25-year-old Schoenberg; the latter’s »Verklärte Nacht« (Transfigured Night, 1899) also conjours a night of starlit enchantment in the piano trio version played so sensitively here.

Animato Quartet wins the Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation Competition

The Animato Quartet won first prize of € 12.000 at the Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation competition, which was held on 22 January 2025 as part of the Heidelberg Spring String Quartet Festival.
A total of eight ensembles competed in front of an audience at the Heidelberg University of Education, selected from 27 applications.
The first prize, awarded to the Animato Quartet as an annual scholarship, is also linked to a performance engagement at the Heidelberg Spring Festival in 2026.

Members of the Animato Quartet with Irene Steels-Wilsing © Nico Rademacher / Heidelberger Frühling