An important part of Anne-Sophie Mutter’s “Mozart Project” is to present the composer’s mature violin sonatas. Between 2005 and 2007, Ms. Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis toured throughout Europe, North America and Asia with the Mozart sonatas. In major musical centers such as Paris, London, Vienna and New York, they offered the entire cycle over three consecutive evenings. This three-evening survey was recorded in Munich in February 2006. Mozart composed sonatas for violin and piano from his earliest youth until his final years. But while the early pieces are little more than piano sonatas with violin accompaniments, the more mature works of 1778 begin to integrate the violin and piano parts more closely, and to highlight the growing independence and virtuosity of the violin. Mozart composed several violin sonatas during his stay in Mannheim and on his voyage to Paris in 1778. These first mature sonatas reflect some of the “Sturm und Drang” atmosphere of the music at the court of Mannheim, which emboldened Mozart to write in a freer and more dramatic mode. The E minor Sonata K. 304, for instance, prefigures Romanticism, and K. 306 incorporates a written-out cadenza for both instruments, similarly to an operatic “scena”. Indeed, the sonatas’ closeness to the opera is an element that Anne-Sophie Mutter herself has often pointed out: “For me, these sonatas are like narratives. Mozart never left the operatic stage, not even in his chamber music.” Mozart published his second set of mature sonatas shortly after he moved to Vienna in 1781. Among the most outstanding works of this cycle is the F major Sonata K. 377, a restrained piece of brooding intensity and introspection. The last sonatas were written between 1784 and 1788 and include Ms. Mutter’s favorite, the B flat major Sonata K. 454, “a monumental achievement,” as she puts it. “In the famous Andante, the violin and piano are so elaborately intertwined that you simply don’t notice when the words are taken out of your mouth and put back again. … This work has a depth that’s unequalled.” (Anne-Sophie Mutter) Also available is a “making-of” documentary on “The Mozart Project” (45′), in which Anne-Sophie Mutter talks about her relationship to Mozart’s music and is joined by her colleagues André Previn, Lambert Orkis and Daniel Müller-Schott.
Mozart, Sonata in E flat major, K.380
An important part of Anne-Sophie Mutter’s “Mozart Project” is to present the composer’s mature violin sonatas. Between 2005 and 2007, Ms. Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis toured throughout Europe, North America and Asia with the Mozart sonatas. In major musical centers such as Paris, London, Vienna and New York, they offered the entire cycle over three consecutive evenings. This three-evening survey was recorded in Munich in February 2006. Mozart composed sonatas for violin and piano from his earliest youth until his final years. But while the early pieces are little more than piano sonatas with violin accompaniments, the more mature works of 1778 begin to integrate the violin and piano parts more closely, and to highlight the growing independence and virtuosity of the violin. Mozart composed several violin sonatas during his stay in Mannheim and on his voyage to Paris in 1778. These first mature sonatas reflect some of the “Sturm und Drang” atmosphere of the music at the court of Mannheim, which emboldened Mozart to write in a freer and more dramatic mode. The E minor Sonata K. 304, for instance, prefigures Romanticism, and K. 306 incorporates a written-out cadenza for both instruments, similarly to an operatic “scena”. Indeed, the sonatas’ closeness to the opera is an element that Anne-Sophie Mutter herself has often pointed out: “For me, these sonatas are like narratives. Mozart never left the operatic stage, not even in his chamber music.” Mozart published his second set of mature sonatas shortly after he moved to Vienna in 1781. Among the most outstanding works of this cycle is the F major Sonata K. 377, a restrained piece of brooding intensity and introspection. The last sonatas were written between 1784 and 1788 and include Ms. Mutter’s favorite, the B flat major Sonata K. 454, “a monumental achievement,” as she puts it. “In the famous Andante, the violin and piano are so elaborately intertwined that you simply don’t notice when the words are taken out of your mouth and put back again. … This work has a depth that’s unequalled.” (Anne-Sophie Mutter) Also available is a “making-of” documentary on “The Mozart Project” (45′), in which Anne-Sophie Mutter talks about her relationship to Mozart’s music and is joined by her colleagues André Previn, Lambert Orkis and Daniel Müller-Schott.
Mozart, Sonata in A major, K.305
An important part of Anne-Sophie Mutter’s “Mozart Project” is to present the composer’s mature violin sonatas. Between 2005 and 2007, Ms. Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis toured throughout Europe, North America and Asia with the Mozart sonatas. In major musical centers such as Paris, London, Vienna and New York, they offered the entire cycle over three consecutive evenings. This three-evening survey was recorded in Munich in February 2006. Mozart composed sonatas for violin and piano from his earliest youth until his final years. But while the early pieces are little more than piano sonatas with violin accompaniments, the more mature works of 1778 begin to integrate the violin and piano parts more closely, and to highlight the growing independence and virtuosity of the violin. Mozart composed several violin sonatas during his stay in Mannheim and on his voyage to Paris in 1778. These first mature sonatas reflect some of the “Sturm und Drang” atmosphere of the music at the court of Mannheim, which emboldened Mozart to write in a freer and more dramatic mode. The E minor Sonata K. 304, for instance, prefigures Romanticism, and K. 306 incorporates a written-out cadenza for both instruments, similarly to an operatic “scena”. Indeed, the sonatas’ closeness to the opera is an element that Anne-Sophie Mutter herself has often pointed out: “For me, these sonatas are like narratives. Mozart never left the operatic stage, not even in his chamber music.” Mozart published his second set of mature sonatas shortly after he moved to Vienna in 1781. Among the most outstanding works of this cycle is the F major Sonata K. 377, a restrained piece of brooding intensity and introspection. The last sonatas were written between 1784 and 1788 and include Ms. Mutter’s favorite, the B flat major Sonata K. 454, “a monumental achievement,” as she puts it. “In the famous Andante, the violin and piano are so elaborately intertwined that you simply don’t notice when the words are taken out of your mouth and put back again. … This work has a depth that’s unequalled.” (Anne-Sophie Mutter) Also available is a “making-of” documentary on “The Mozart Project” (45′), in which Anne-Sophie Mutter talks about her relationship to Mozart’s music and is joined by her colleagues André Previn, Lambert Orkis and Daniel Müller-Schott.
Mozart, Sonata in C major, K.303
An important part of Anne-Sophie Mutter’s “Mozart Project” is to present the composer’s mature violin sonatas. Between 2005 and 2007, Ms. Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis toured throughout Europe, North America and Asia with the Mozart sonatas. In major musical centers such as Paris, London, Vienna and New York, they offered the entire cycle over three consecutive evenings. This three-evening survey was recorded in Munich in February 2006. Mozart composed sonatas for violin and piano from his earliest youth until his final years. But while the early pieces are little more than piano sonatas with violin accompaniments, the more mature works of 1778 begin to integrate the violin and piano parts more closely, and to highlight the growing independence and virtuosity of the violin. Mozart composed several violin sonatas during his stay in Mannheim and on his voyage to Paris in 1778. These first mature sonatas reflect some of the “Sturm und Drang” atmosphere of the music at the court of Mannheim, which emboldened Mozart to write in a freer and more dramatic mode. The E minor Sonata K. 304, for instance, prefigures Romanticism, and K. 306 incorporates a written-out cadenza for both instruments, similarly to an operatic “scena”. Indeed, the sonatas’ closeness to the opera is an element that Anne-Sophie Mutter herself has often pointed out: “For me, these sonatas are like narratives. Mozart never left the operatic stage, not even in his chamber music.” Mozart published his second set of mature sonatas shortly after he moved to Vienna in 1781. Among the most outstanding works of this cycle is the F major Sonata K. 377, a restrained piece of brooding intensity and introspection. The last sonatas were written between 1784 and 1788 and include Ms. Mutter’s favorite, the B flat major Sonata K. 454, “a monumental achievement,” as she puts it. “In the famous Andante, the violin and piano are so elaborately intertwined that you simply don’t notice when the words are taken out of your mouth and put back again. … This work has a depth that’s unequalled.” (Anne-Sophie Mutter) Also available is a “making-of” documentary on “The Mozart Project” (45′), in which Anne-Sophie Mutter talks about her relationship to Mozart’s music and is joined by her colleagues André Previn, Lambert Orkis and Daniel Müller-Schott.
Mozart, Sonata in G major, K.301
An important part of Anne-Sophie Mutter’s “Mozart Project” is to present the composer’s mature violin sonatas. Between 2005 and 2007, Ms. Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis toured throughout Europe, North America and Asia with the Mozart sonatas. In major musical centers such as Paris, London, Vienna and New York, they offered the entire cycle over three consecutive evenings. This three-evening survey was recorded in Munich in February 2006. Mozart composed sonatas for violin and piano from his earliest youth until his final years. But while the early pieces are little more than piano sonatas with violin accompaniments, the more mature works of 1778 begin to integrate the violin and piano parts more closely, and to highlight the growing independence and virtuosity of the violin. Mozart composed several violin sonatas during his stay in Mannheim and on his voyage to Paris in 1778. These first mature sonatas reflect some of the “Sturm und Drang” atmosphere of the music at the court of Mannheim, which emboldened Mozart to write in a freer and more dramatic mode. The E minor Sonata K. 304, for instance, prefigures Romanticism, and K. 306 incorporates a written-out cadenza for both instruments, similarly to an operatic “scena”. Indeed, the sonatas’ closeness to the opera is an element that Anne-Sophie Mutter herself has often pointed out: “For me, these sonatas are like narratives. Mozart never left the operatic stage, not even in his chamber music.” Mozart published his second set of mature sonatas shortly after he moved to Vienna in 1781. Among the most outstanding works of this cycle is the F major Sonata K. 377, a restrained piece of brooding intensity and introspection. The last sonatas were written between 1784 and 1788 and include Ms. Mutter’s favorite, the B flat major Sonata K. 454, “a monumental achievement,” as she puts it. “In the famous Andante, the violin and piano are so elaborately intertwined that you simply don’t notice when the words are taken out of your mouth and put back again. … This work has a depth that’s unequalled.” (Anne-Sophie Mutter) Also available is a “making-of” documentary on “The Mozart Project” (45′), in which Anne-Sophie Mutter talks about her relationship to Mozart’s music and is joined by her colleagues André Previn, Lambert Orkis and Daniel Müller-Schott.
Mozart, Sonata in F major, K.547
An important part of Anne-Sophie Mutter’s “Mozart Project” is to present the composer’s mature violin sonatas. Between 2005 and 2007, Ms. Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis toured throughout Europe, North America and Asia with the Mozart sonatas. In major musical centers such as Paris, London, Vienna and New York, they offered the entire cycle over three consecutive evenings. This three-evening survey was recorded in Munich in February 2006. Mozart composed sonatas for violin and piano from his earliest youth until his final years. But while the early pieces are little more than piano sonatas with violin accompaniments, the more mature works of 1778 begin to integrate the violin and piano parts more closely, and to highlight the growing independence and virtuosity of the violin. Mozart composed several violin sonatas during his stay in Mannheim and on his voyage to Paris in 1778. These first mature sonatas reflect some of the “Sturm und Drang” atmosphere of the music at the court of Mannheim, which emboldened Mozart to write in a freer and more dramatic mode. The E minor Sonata K. 304, for instance, prefigures Romanticism, and K. 306 incorporates a written-out cadenza for both instruments, similarly to an operatic “scena”. Indeed, the sonatas’ closeness to the opera is an element that Anne-Sophie Mutter herself has often pointed out: “For me, these sonatas are like narratives. Mozart never left the operatic stage, not even in his chamber music.” Mozart published his second set of mature sonatas shortly after he moved to Vienna in 1781. Among the most outstanding works of this cycle is the F major Sonata K. 377, a restrained piece of brooding intensity and introspection. The last sonatas were written between 1784 and 1788 and include Ms. Mutter’s favorite, the B flat major Sonata K. 454, “a monumental achievement,” as she puts it. “In the famous Andante, the violin and piano are so elaborately intertwined that you simply don’t notice when the words are taken out of your mouth and put back again. … This work has a depth that’s unequalled.” (Anne-Sophie Mutter) Also available is a “making-of” documentary on “The Mozart Project” (45′), in which Anne-Sophie Mutter talks about her relationship to Mozart’s music and is joined by her colleagues André Previn, Lambert Orkis and Daniel Müller-Schott.
Mozart, Violin Concerto No.1 in B flat major, K.207
Mozart, who was also an accomplished violinist, wrote all of his five violin concertos in Salzburg in 1775, apparently for his own personal use. Their style can best be described as cosmopolitan and reflects the many musical currents he had been exposed to while on his travels in Italy and elsewhere. Aristocratic, suave, witty, wonderfully melodious, they are dazzling gems that conceal an inner core of challenging material that can be truly mastered only by the very best violinists.
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim
The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra celebrates its 20th anniversary by giving a concert at the Berlin Philharmonie with world-renowned artists: Anne-Sophie Mutter and Yo-Yo Ma perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto together with Maestro Barenboim and the young musicians. Yo-Yo Ma, who played with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at their first
concert 20 years ago, and Anne-Sophie Mutter, who made her debut with the orchestra only this year, were named as honorary members of the orchestra on the occasion of this event. “It is fascinating to experience how brilliant, concentrated and at the same time relaxed these three world stars make music together and listen to each other. A masterpiece of harmony“ (RBB24). The second part of the concert features Bruckner’s 9th Symphony, transcendental music which the composer himself dedicated to “the dear God“. The symphony is unfinished not only because Bruckner died during the process of composition, but especially because it seems to perish in nothingness. The musicians of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are excellently prepared and play technically and tonal flawlessly. A magic moment.
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker
For the first time available on Blu-ray is this extraordinary artistic collaboration of three super stars: Herbert von Karajan, Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Berlin Philharmonic perform three popular violin concertos, filmed in 1984 and 1987 at the legendary Philharmonie Berlin. The very famous Beethoven Violin Concerto, the cardinal work in the violin repertoire, was filmed with 21-year old Anne-Sophie Mutter in 1984. In 1987 Karajan, together with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Berlin Philharmonic, inaugurated the Chamber Music Hall at Berlin Philharmonie with this festive performance of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. And New Year´s Eve concert in 1984 celebrated the 300th birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach. These concerts show that Karajan, throughout his career, championed the use of visual media and new audio technology to enhance musical expression.
The Composer Krzysztof Penderecki – Paths through the Labyrinth
Even at over 80 Krzysztof Penderecki is still an unflinching and highly active composer and conductor. Director Anna Schmidt followed Penderecki’s paths for a year – in the process interviewing such worldfamous artists as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Julian Rachlin and Janine Jansen as well as Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) and legendary film director Andrzej Wajda. As a result, Paths Through the Labyrinth has become a comprehensive “work in progress” documentary, accompanying Penderecki from Kraków to Munich, from Vienna to Leipzig, and to his private country estate. Throughout, the composer reflects on his beginnings, the turning points in his life and the world of his ideas. Thoughts, dialogues, encounters and extracts from several famous Penderecki compositions coalesce into a fascinating, multilayered portrayal of one of today’s most influential musicians.