Tanglewood is one of the world’s most beloved music festivals and serves as the summer home for the famed Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). In a star-studded event featuring some of its most distinguished and longtime contributors, the prestigious Tanglewood Festival celebrated its 75th anniversary with an evening of sparkling music that will last in memory.
André Previn – A Bridge Between Two Worlds
André Previn is one of the leading musicians of our day. The eighty-one-year-old cosmopolitan pianist, conductor and classical composer has not only received no fewer than foru Academy awards for his film adaptations but was also one of the most influential jazz musicians of the fifties and sixties. A Bridge Between Two Worlds is a portrait of Previn´s fascinating musicianship and also looks candidly at his private life, including his relations with his two ex-wives, Mia Farrow and Anne-Sophie Mutter. As a bonus, this release features Mozart´s two Piano Quartets K. 478 and K. 493 with André Previn at the keyboard.
RCO: Nelsons conducts Sibelius with Anne-Sophie Mutter
“Stradivari on eight cylinders” was the headline for the rich cornucopia of sound that Anne-Sophie Mutter poured out with the Sibelius Violin Concerto. “Her Stradivari lets her sing the arches of melody with warm vibrato and lends real fire to her double-stopping; she stages great leaps as soaring stairways to heaven or headlong descents to hell”, reports the Süddeutsche Zeitung with admiration. “It can be played differently, but not better.” (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung) Mutter’s violin concerto is wonderfully complemented by Shostakovich’s 10th, in which Nelsons truly triumphs: “World-class, these exponents from Amsterdam” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Odeonsplatz Concert 2024: Lahav Shani & Anne-Sophie Mutter
For over 20 years, the Odeonsplatz Concert has been an open-air highlight of the classical music summer, attracting over 16,000 viewers each year. In this concert event, conductor Lahav Shani leads the Münchner Philharmoniker in a varied programme “with his elegant, sensual and dance-like way of conducting…Shani is likely to win many points of favour with the concert audience. He has obviously won over the orchestra members long ago” (Münchner Merkur). Violin superstar Anne-Sophie Mutter shines in Saint-Saëns‘ virtuosic Introduction et Rondo capriccioso as well as a wonderful assortment of John Williams. “It’s been a long time since [the Odeonsplatz concert] has been this exciting” (Abendzeitung). PROGRAM: Weber – Overture to “Oberon”; Saint-Saëns – Introduction et Rondo capriccioso; Stravinsky – Firebird Suite (excerpt); Dukas – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Williams – Music from “The Witches of Eastwick”, “Sabrina”, “Harry Potter”, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, Imperial March from “Star Wars”
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. PROGRAM Beethoven: Triple Concerto; Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Brahms, Sonatas for Violin and Piano
As Anne-Sophie Mutter herself puts it, ‘the apple was ripe and simply had to be picked.’ The ‘apple’ is the complete cycle of Brahms’ sonatas for violin and piano. Mutter, perhaps the best-known and most widely respected violinist of our time, has been fascinated by the Brahms sonatas since her youth. Several early recordings testify to her love for these works which, in her words, reflect Brahms’ understanding of ‘the singing quality’ of the violin. Over the years, she and her longtime piano partner Lambert Orkis have ‘ripened’ their interpretation of these works. Now, with the sonatas ‘under their skin’, the multiple award-winning violinist and her partner felt the time was right for their first audiovisual recording of the complete set.
Mendelssohn, Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, op.49
One of the world’s foremost violinists, Anne-Sophie Mutter is a musical celebrity known even by countless people who rarely listen to classical music. The artist and teacher, who promotes young musicians and commissions new works from contemporary composers, made her spectacular breakthrough under Herbert von Karajan at the 1977 Salzburg Easter Festival. She has since concertized at every major venue throughout the world. In 2008 she was awarded not only the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Award, but also the Leipzig Mendelssohn Award. The award ceremony in March 2008 was crowned by a gala concert at Leipzig’s Gewandhaus with the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Kurt Masur, at which Mutter performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor op. 64 presented here. The recording offers a selection of masterpieces by Mendelssohn (1809-1847) in a variety of instrumentations. In addition to Mutter, Masur and the Leipzig orchestra, the performers also include Mutter’s chamber-music partners Lynn Harrell and André Previn. On the occasion of the Mendelssohn Year, UNITEL CLASSICA also offers the documentary Anne-Sophie Mutter – Encounters with Mendelssohn, in which the artist discusses her affinity to Mendelssohn and explains why she particularly admires the works presented here. Mutter has performed the Violin Concerto several times in her career. Joining her in Mendelssohn’s Violin Sonata is pianist André Previn, who is also an internationally renowned conductor and composer. Previn accompanied Mutter in several Mozart Trios that are part of her “Mozart Project” available from UNITEL CLASSICA. He and cellist Lynn Harrell now interpret the D-minor Trio with her. This is a stunning anthology of chamber and orchestral music from one of the most vibrant composers of the early romantic era, performed by top artists of today!
Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto in E Minor Op. 64
In 2008 Anne-Sophie Mutter was awarded not only the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Award, but also the Leipzig Mendelssohn Award. The award ceremony in March 2008 was crowned by a gala concert at Leipzig’s Gewandhaus with the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Kurt Masur, at which Mutter performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor op. 64 presented here. Also available: Anne-Sophie Mutter – Encounters with Mendelssohn, Documentary, Length: 18’, directed by Günter Atteln (A04500548).
Anne-Sophie Mutter plays Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor
In 2008 Anne-Sophie Mutter was awarded not only the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Award, but also the Leipzig Mendelssohn Award. The award ceremony in March 2008 was crowned by a gala concert at Leipzig’s Gewandhaus. The recording offers a selection of masterpieces by Mendelssohn (1809-1847) in a variety of instrumentations. Joining her in Mendelssohn’s Sonata for Violin F major (Length: 25’ – A05512287) is pianist André Previn, who is also an internationally renowned conductor and composer. He and cellist Lynn Harrell also interpret the D-minor Trio (Length: 29’ – A055122880001) with her. This is a stunning antholog of chamber music from one of the most vibrant composers of the early romantic era, performed by top artists of today!
Anne-Sophie Mutter plays Mendelssohn: Violin Sonata in F major
In 2008 Anne-Sophie Mutter was awarded not only the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Award, but also the Leipzig Mendelssohn Award. The award ceremony in March 2008 was crowned by a gala concert at Leipzig’s Gewandhaus. The recording offers a selection of masterpieces by Mendelssohn (1809-1847) in a variety of instrumentations. Joining her in Mendelssohn’s Sonata for Violin F major (Length: 25’ – A05512287) is pianist André Previn, who is also an internationally renowned conductor and composer. He and cellist Lynn Harrell also interpret the D-minor Trio (Length: 29’ – A055122880001) with her. This is a stunning anthology of chamber music from one of the most vibrant composers of the early romantic era, performed by top artists of today!