Berlin, November 1976. The world of music prepares to bring together two major artists of the 20th century: Herbert von Karajan and Anne-Sophie Mutter. She was invited to Berlin for an audition before the maestro at just 13 years old, which marked a turning point not only in both of their personal journeys, but also in the history of classical music. A fairy tale came true.
Anne-Sophie Mutter was born on 29th June 1963 in Rheinfelden, Baden-Württemberg, on the edge of the Black Forest. In addition to some sporting activities and reading, the youngest of the family (she had two older brothers) devoted herself to her first passion: music. Her parents, who did not play any instruments themselves, were great music lovers. At the age of 5, she asked to learn to play the violin and piano, and won her first competition a few months later. A child prodigy was born… All that remained to be done was to spread the news! Her teacher Aida Stucki, who took her on as a pupil from 1974, after the death of her first teacher, Erna Honigberger, (herself a pupil of Carl Flesch), would play an instrumental role.
In 1976, the young girl’s name reached the ears of the Austrian maestro. At the time, Herbert von Karajan was already considered one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century and had left an indelible mark on the Berliner Philharmoniker in his role as musical director. The violinist recalls their first meeting: “When I first saw him in Berlin, I had of course already heard of Herbert von Karajan, even though I was very young at the time. When he entered the room, I was impressed by his presence. He had this energy, this mastery of space... I wasn’t even intimidated: it seemed so unreal at the time; he was evolving in a universe that seemed so different... I was very young and very naive, I simply played better than I could. If I had been ten years older, I would surely have started shaking.”
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