Anne-Sophie Mutter
Anne-Sophie Mutter is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of modern times, combining technical virtuosity, beauty of tone, and exceptional charisma. She has nurtured the classical music scene through her own Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, which has commissioned new works and fostered the careers of younger violinists.
Mutter was born in the West German town of Rheinfelden, near the Swiss border, on June 29, 1963. She took up the piano at five and the violin shortly after. By nine, she was advancing rapidly and had begun lessons with Aïda Stucki. Mutter appeared in recital at the Lucerne Festival when she was 13 and was heard there by legendary conductor Herbert von Karajan. He became a key backer, inviting her to make her orchestral debut with the Berlin Philharmonic at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival in 1977 and to collaborate with him on her 1978 debut recording, an album of Mozart violin concertos. Their collaboration became a lasting one as they recorded many of the major 19th century violin concertos together for Deutsche Grammophon. In the 1980s, Mutter made her debut appearances in major musical capitals, including Washington and New York (1980), Tokyo (1981), and Moscow (1985), and by the late '80s, she was a superstar violinist. She was appointed International Chair in Violin Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1986 and the following year founded the Rudolf Eberle Trust to support the development of gifted young string players throughout Europe. After several mergers with other groups, this became the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation in 2008.
Mutter married Detlef Wunderlich in 1989; the couple had two children, but the marriage ended with Wunderlich's death in 1995. Her 1999 recording of the Vivaldi Four Seasons violin concertos with the Trondheim Soloists was dedicated to his memory. Mutter married conductor and pianist André Previn in 2002. Although this marriage ended in divorce in 2006, the couple remained friends and collaborators; Previn's Violin Concerto "Anne-Sophie," Violin Concerto No. 2, and Violin Sonata No. 2 are among Mutter's many world premieres, which also include works by Wolfgang Rihm, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Henri Dutilleux.
Mutter announced her retirement in 2008 at the age of 45, but she later said the announcement had been misinterpreted, and indeed in the 2010s, she was exceptionally active as a recording and concert artist. Mutter made pioneering appearances at electronic music clubs at Berlin's Asphalt in 2013 and Neue Heimat in 2015; these were recorded and released in Deutsche Grammophon's new Yellow Lounge series. Her appearances late in the decade included a performance at the BBC Proms in the 2017-2018 season and a recital tour honoring the 85th birthday of Penderecki. She has remained associated with Deutsche Grammophon, where a compilation of her Penderecki recordings appeared in 2018. The Tokyo Gala Concert, a live appearance at Tokyo's Suntory Hall with conductor Seiji Ozawa leading the Saito Kinen Orchestra, followed in 2019.
Among Mutter's many honors are four Grammy Awards. She also earned the 2011 Erich-Fromm-Preis for the advancement of humanism through social engagement. Mutter has often lent her talents in support of charitable causes, including making appearances to benefit victims of the 2011 tsunami in Japan. She is the holder of the Merit Cross 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany, and she is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2020, Mutter joined cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Daniel Barenboim for an all-star recording of Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Op. 56, on Deutsche Grammophon. She returned in 2022 with a recording on that label of John Williams' Violin Concerto No. 2.
© James Manheim /TiVo
-
Bach: Double Concerto (Live From Yellow Lounge)
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Oct 16, 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn / Bruch: Violin Concertos
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerto pour 2 violons & concertos pour violon n° 1 & 2
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms & Franck: Violin Sonatas
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Alexis Weissenberg
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jun 26, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Tokyo Gala Concert (Live)
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Saito Kinen Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, Diego Matheuz
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Les Quatre Saisons
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Oct 1, 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anne-Sophie Mutter - Tango Song and Dance
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2003
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hedwig's Theme (From "Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone" / Single Version)
Anne-Sophie Mutter, The Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles, John Williams
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on May 10, 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lalo: Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21 - de Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Triple Concerto; Overtures
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mark Zeltser, Yo-Yo Ma, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John Williams in Vienna
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, John Williams
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Aug 14, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart, W.A.: Piano Trios (Live)
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Daniel Müller-Schott, André Previn
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Oct 2, 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Triple Concerto & Symphony No. 7 (Live)
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Apr 3, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strawinsky: Violin Concerto / Lutoslawski: Partita; Chain 2
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Phillip Moll, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Witold Lutosławski, Paul Sacher
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Lambert Orkis
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Across The Stars (Deluxe Edition)
Anne-Sophie Mutter, The Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles, John Williams
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Aug 30, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Nov 4, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dutilleux / Bartók / Stravinsky: Violin Concertos
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: The Violin Concertos; Sinfonia concertante
Anne-Sophie Mutter, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Violin concerto, op. 77 / Beethoven: Triple concerto, op.56
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo