Anne-Sophie Mutter: Simply Anne-Sophie

After decades at the fore of classical music, Anne-Sophie Mutter has announced “Simply Anne-Sophie”, a double-disc feature based around her work of the past years. “Simply Anne-Sophie” is not to be seen as a hurriedly compiled “Best Of” by Anne-Sophie Mutter. Instead, this combination of Audio Disc and DVD wants to take a short leave from the break-neck tempo with which she has established herself as the archetypical violinist of her generation. This is probably, why “Simply Anne-Sophie” may well be considered as the most commercial album she has ever recorded. Anne-Sophie Mutter performs Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Beethoven and shows her interest in 20th century works with an interpretation of “Porgy and Bess”. And for all those who have followed the life and times of Anne-Sophie Mutter all the way to the tabloids, it may be an interesting detail that “Simply Anne-Sophie” also contains a piece dedicated to her by former husband Andre Previn , whom she was married to until 2006.

For the Audio-part of “Simply Anne-Sophie”, Mutter has used the opportunity to reflect on her beginnings in the business – and on the seminal importance of Herbert von Karajan, who recognised her talent at a young age: “Herbert von Karajan drew me into the scores and showed me from bird’s eye view, where the violin is situated and how it blends into the orchestra”, Anne-Sophie Mutter says, “But most of all, he showed me the wonder of how a violin solo cristalizes itself out of an oboe solo and how one tries to award a unique timbre to both instruments on order to establish a relationship between them.”

Asked about the relevance of yet another version of the four seasons, Anne-Sophie Mutter draws paralells with contemporary visual art: “It’s a tone poem, really, and I’m trying to tell a story with my instrument.” To back her up, Anne-Sophie Mutter has invited the acclaimed Norwegian ensemble Trondheim Soloists. The Trondheim Soloists have expressed their pride in the collaboration with Anne-Sophie Mutter – and simultaneously announced a three-week tour with her through China, Taiwan, South-Korea and Japan.

This inidicates that Anne-Sophie Mutter has deliberately chosen for a lot of long-time companions for the album. “Simply Anne-Sophie” furthermore features James Levine, Kurt Masur as well as the London, Vienna and New York Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

The DVD segment offers video clips to some of the tracks from the Audio CD. It is not a very extensive selection, but to back it up, Deutsche Grammophon have also included a complete discography of Anne-Sophie Mutter as well as a picture gallery. Priced almost like a regular CD; this turns “Simply Anne-Sophie” into a most welcome item.

Picture by Tina Tahir c/o Shotview photographers

Homepage: Anne-Sophie Mutter
Homepage: Deutsche Grammophon Records