Albrecht Mayer

Unlike the piano, the violin or even the flute, the oboe is a relatively rare instrument for a solo career. And when a soloist such as Albrecht Mayer plays the oboe, one wishes composers had written more works for this weetly mellow instrument. Critics write about the “divine spark” that inspires his playing, and about the “miraculous oboe” that turns into “an instrument of seduction.” With his particularly warm tone and exceptionally broad palette of nuances, it’s no surprise that Albrecht Mayer is one of today’s most sought-after international oboists. In this documentary portrait of the oboist, we retrace the musician’s impressive career and witness some of its many high points. Mayer embarked on a professional career in 1990, when he joined the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra as solo oboist. Two years later, he made the transition to the absolute top league with his appointment as solo oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic, and since then he has made countless international appearances, playing under such eminent conductors as Abbado, Rattle and Harnoncourt. In addition to his work as a soloist, Mayer also attaches great importance to chamber music. He is a permanent member of the Sabine Meyer Wind Ensemble and also plays with such partners as Thomas Quasthoff, Matthias Goerne and Leif Ove Andsnes.

In Memoriam Mstislav Rostropovich

This Unitel documentary with unreleased footage material – produced in the course of his 80th birthday in March 2007 – shows the eventful and emotional life of the extraordinary cellist Mstislaw Rostropovich. In one of his last interviews, Mstislaw Rostropovich draws a touching bow from his childhood in Russia – when he suffered from the apathy of his father – to his emigration, his enormous prosperities in a foreign country and to the point of his triumphal return back home. The portrait describes emotional moments in the life of one of the most important cellists and lights up the political and social commitment of the artist. Companions and pupil of the musician like the composer Krzysztof Penderecki, Natalia Gutman and Maxim Vengerov give an impression of who and how he was.

Introduction to Albrecht Mayer’s New Seasons

Unlike the piano, the violin or even the flute, the oboe is a relatively rare instrument for a solo career. And when a soloist such as Albrecht Mayer plays the oboe, one wishes composers had written more works for this sweetly mellow instrument. Critics write about the “divine spark” that inspires his playing, and about the “miraculous oboe” that turns into “an instrument of seduction.” With his particularly warm tone and exceptionally broad palette of nuances, it’s no surprise that Albrecht Mayer is one of today’s most sought-after international oboists. In this documentary portrait of the oboist, we retrace the musician’s impressive career and witness some of its many high points. Mayer embarked on a professional career in 1990, when he joined the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra as solo oboist. Two years later, he made the transition to the absolute top league with his appointment as solo oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic, and since then he has made countless international appearances, playing under such eminent conductors as Abbado, Rattle and Harnoncourt. In addition to his work as a soloist, Mayer also attaches great importance to chamber music. He is a permanent member of the Sabine Meyer Wind Ensemble and also plays with such partners as Thomas Quasthoff, Matthias Goerne and Leif Ove Andsnes.

Mozart, Trio in B flat major, K.502

When Anne-Sophie Mutter says that Mozart wrote his trios for violin, violoncello and piano for his own enjoyment, then this is not merely a conclusion derived from the artist’s own pleasure in playing these works with talented colleagues. Mozart himself, in a letter of June 1788 to his friend Michael Puchberg, added this postscript: “When are we to have a little musical party at your house again? I have composed a new trio!” He was referring to the Piano Trio in E major K. 542. All three trios on this recording are not only late works, but were also published together in 1788, lending weight to the claim that they are the three finest and most exemplary works in this genre by Mozart. In the earliest of the three, K. 502, Mozart broke through the traditional predominance of the piano to give equal weight to the strings, whereby the violin is given ample opportunity to display the soloist’s bravura. The Trios K. 542 and 548 were both written in the astonishingly fruitful summer of 1788, during which Mozart wrote the great trilogy of his last symphonies. They show Mozart at the very height of his powers. Proof that Mozart thought highly of K. 542 emerges in the fact that he played it at the court of Dresden in 1789 when he was seeking an appointment there. Finally, K. 548 in C major is a more restrained work that concentrates on motivic development and, in its slow movement, foreshadows the chamber music of the early 19th century. Joining Anne-Sophie Mutter on this recording is the internationally acclaimed young cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, who, as a scholarship holder from her Foundation, benefited from Ms. Mutter’s personal sponsorship at the outset of his career. More than one critic is already mentioning his name in one breath with Pablo Casals and Mstislav Rostropovich. At the piano is Sir André Previn, pianist, conductor, composer and gifted accompanist. The stunning location of the concert – the late-Baroque Teatro Bibiena in Mantua – bears a subtle connection to Mozart, for it is here that the 14-year-old Wolfgang gave a recital with his father in January 1770 while on his first tour of Italy. 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, Trio in E major, K.542

When Anne-Sophie Mutter says that Mozart wrote his trios for violin, violoncello and piano for his own enjoyment, then this is not merely a conclusion derived from the artist’s own pleasure in playing these works with talented colleagues. Mozart himself, in a letter of June 1788 to his friend Michael Puchberg, added this postscript: “When are we to have a little musical party at your house again? I have composed a new trio!” He was referring to the Piano Trio in E major K. 542. All three trios on this recording are not only late works, but were also published together in 1788, lending weight to the claim that they are the three finest and most exemplary works in this genre by Mozart. In the earliest of the three, K. 502, Mozart broke through the traditional predominance of the piano to give equal weight to the strings, whereby the violin is given ample opportunity to display the soloist’s bravura. The Trios K. 542 and 548 were both written in the astonishingly fruitful summer of 1788, during which Mozart wrote the great trilogy of his last symphonies. They show Mozart at the very height of his powers. Proof that Mozart thought highly of K. 542 emerges in the fact that he played it at the court of Dresden in 1789 when he was seeking an appointment there. Finally, K. 548 in C major is a more restrained work that concentrates on motivic development and, in its slow movement, foreshadows the chamber music of the early 19th century. Joining Anne-Sophie Mutter on this recording is the internationally acclaimed young cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, who, as a scholarship holder from her Foundation, benefited from Ms. Mutter’s personal sponsorship at the outset of his career. More than one critic is already mentioning his name in one breath with Pablo Casals and Mstislav Rostropovich. At the piano is Sir André Previn, pianist, conductor, composer and gifted accompanist. The stunning location of the concert – the late-Baroque Teatro Bibiena in Mantua – bears a subtle connection to Mozart, for it is here that the 14-year-old Wolfgang gave a recital with his father in January 1770 while on his first tour of Italy. 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, Trio in C major, K.548

When Anne-Sophie Mutter says that Mozart wrote his trios for violin, violoncello and piano for his own enjoyment, then this is not merely a conclusion derived from the artist’s own pleasure in playing these works with talented colleagues. Mozart himself, in a letter of June 1788 to his friend Michael Puchberg, added this postscript: “When are we to have a little musical party at your house again? I have composed a new trio!” He was referring to the Piano Trio in E major K. 542. All three trios on this recording are not only late works, but were also published together in 1788, lending weight to the claim that they are the three finest and most exemplary works in this genre by Mozart. In the earliest of the three, K. 502, Mozart broke through the traditional predominance of the piano to give equal weight to the strings, whereby the violin is given ample opportunity to display the soloist’s bravura. The Trios K. 542 and 548 were both written in the astonishingly fruitful summer of 1788, during which Mozart wrote the great trilogy of his last symphonies. They show Mozart at the very height of his powers. Proof that Mozart thought highly of K. 542 emerges in the fact that he played it at the court of Dresden in 1789 when he was seeking an appointment there. Finally, K. 548 in C major is a more restrained work that concentrates on motivic development and, in its slow movement, foreshadows the chamber music of the early 19th century. Joining Anne-Sophie Mutter on this recording is the internationally acclaimed young cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, who, as a scholarship holder from her Foundation, benefited from Ms. Mutter’s personal sponsorship at the outset of his career. More than one critic is already mentioning his name in one breath with Pablo Casals and Mstislav Rostropovich. At the piano is Sir André Previn, pianist, conductor, composer and gifted accompanist. The stunning location of the concert – the late-Baroque Teatro Bibiena in Mantua – bears a subtle connection to Mozart, for it is here that the 14-year-old Wolfgang gave a recital with his father in January 1770 while on his first tour of Italy. 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.