New York, NY (Top40 Charts) "Music," says Anne-Sophie Mutter, "should grip people, move people, it should tell stories, it should have impact." It always does all this and more in the hands of this most exceptional of artists, who continues to captivate audiences the world over, more than four decades since she burst onto the international stage. Deutsche Grammophon pays tribute to the violinist this summer to mark her 60th birthday on 29 June. Anne-Sophie Mutter - The Solo Concertos, a limited-edition 5-LP box set containing her complete solo concerto recordings with the Berliner Philharmoniker and her mentor Herbert von Karajan will come out on 9 June 2023. Three further highly acclaimed albums will be reissued digitally on the same day, all available for the first time in Dolby Atmos.
The celebrations continue on STAGE+ with the screening on 26 June of
Sigrid Faltin's new 90-minute documentary (commissioned by SWR), Anne‑Sophie Mutter - Vivace, which premiered earlier this year at the Berlinale. Then, on her birthday itself, 29 June, the platform will stream the artist's forthcoming performance with Mutter's Virtuosi at the Vienna Musikverein, as well as hosting a wide-ranging selection of video-on-demand content, covering her work with Karajan in the early 80s and her recent collaborations with film composer John Williams.
Documenting the making of one of the world's greatest musicians, Anne-Sophie Mutter - The Solo Concertos features a series of recordings notable for their timeless quality. As well as her legendary debut DG album - readings of Mozart's Violin Concertos Nos. 3 & 5 recorded in February 1978 with the Berlin players and Karajan - the set also includes her interpretations of Beethoven's Violin Concerto (1980); Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor and Bruch's Violin Concerto No.1 (1980); Brahms's Violin Concerto (1981) and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (recorded live at the 1988 Salzburg Festival). The latter proved to be Mutter's final performance with Karajan before his death the following year.
These best-selling landmarks of the DG catalogue have been unavailable in LP format for some years. The discs in the new set, pressed by Optimal Media on 180g vinyl, are presented with a 16-page inlay complete with track listings, liner notes, iconic photographs of Mutter with Karajan, and facsimiles of the original recording documentation. A deluxe edition will be available exclusively from the DG Store, complete with a perpetual calendar signed by the artist.
DG is also re-releasing a trio of essential albums from Mutter's extensive catalogue. Carmen-Fantasie (1993), featuring works by Fauré, Massenet, Ravel, Sarasate, Tartini, Wieniawski; Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (1999), on which the violinist is both soloist and conductor; and Mozart - The Violin Concertos (2005), recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, again directed from the violin by Mutter, will all be newly available in immersive Dolby Atmos sound.
As well as continuing to pursue her own glittering solo career, the four-time Grammy-winner devotes much of her time to working with younger performers. Her understanding of music's power to transform lives is reflected in the work of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, which has supported outstanding young string players since its creation in 1997. She has also mentored and toured with The Mutter Virtuosi, a string ensemble comprising current and former Foundation scholarship students since 2011, as well as putting her musicianship and fame to philanthropic use, raising substantial funds for multiple good causes "Music is a gift for everyone," says Mutter, "a possibility to share feelings regardless of your background, to do something meaningful and serve society as a musician."
Anne-Sophie Mutter will embark on a 10-concert tour with Mutter's Virtuosi in June and will perform John Williams's Violin Concerto No. 2 - one of many fruits of her close artistic relationship with the Hollywood legend - with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Festival and on tour in
Europe in late summer.
