Bach, Bologne, Previn, Vivaldi, Williams

by Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mutter's Virtuosi

Overview

Hand it to violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. At an age when many performers are content to rest on their laurels, she has stepped out into new territory, forming Mutter's Virtuosi, an ensemble of young players connected to her Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. Moreover, she has tentatively incorporated influences from the historical performance movement, although she does not play an early violin in the mostly Baroque and Classical-era program here. Sample the fierce attacks in the Vivaldi Concerto for three violins and orchestra, RV 551, or, for that matter, the Four Seasons movement that is included as one of the encores. Leading Mutter's Virtuosi from the violin, she draws a nice contrast between Vivaldi and Bach; the latter, even as influenced as he was by the Italian manner, never adopted the full-scale sense of operatic drama. Mutter also leads the group in the intriguing Nonet by André Previn, her ex-husband, which, while not a Baroque work, has a neoclassical sense of symmetry with its two string groups pivoting on a single double bass. Among the three encores are also two pieces by John Williams, arranged for Mutter by the composer. The program proper ends with the Violin Concerto No. 2 in A major, Op. 5, of Joseph Boulogne (or Bologne), Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the hot Caribbean-French composer of Mozart's day; Mutter delivers probably the best available performance of this rather grand work. One might take issue with this or that here, but the plain fact is that the album, taken from a live 2022 performance at the Vienna Musikverein, is a great deal of fun and shows this great violinist in fine form as she passes on her secrets to young followers. This album made classical best-seller charts in the late autumn of 2023. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	12/15/2023
Label:	Deutsche Grammophon
UPC:	0028948652563
Rank:	3748

Tracks

1. Concerto for 3 violins, strings and basso continuo in F major, RV 551~1. Allegro
2. Concerto for 3 violins, strings and basso continuo in F major, RV 551~2. Andante
3. Concerto for 3 violins, strings and basso continuo in F major, RV 551~3. Allegro
4. Concerto for violin, strings and basso continuo No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041~1. [Allegro moderato]
5. Concerto for violin, strings and basso continuo No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041~2. Andante
6. Concerto for violin, strings and basso continuo No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041~3. Allegro assai
7. Nonet for two string quartets and double bass~1. A Promenade
8. Nonet for two string quartets and double bass~2a. Tempo ad libitum - Slow Interlude for solo violin and double bass
9. Nonet for two string quartets and double bass~2b. Interlude for solo violin and double bass
10. Nonet for two string quartets and double bass~3. Presto
11. Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048~1. [Allegro]
12. Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048~2. Adagio
13. Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048~3. Allegro
14. Concerto for violin and strings in A major, Op. 5/2~1. Allegro moderato
15. Concerto for violin and strings in A major, Op. 5/2~2. Largo
16. Concerto for violin and strings in A major, Op. 5/2~3. Rondeau
17. Cinderella Liberty~Nice to Be Around
18. Violin Concerto in G major "L'estate", RV 315~Presto
19. Pieces from Schindler's List~Theme

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Anne-Sophie Mutter   Primary Artist,Violin
Mutter's Virtuosi   Primary Artist,Ensemble
Elias David Moncado   Violin
Mohamed Hiber   Violin

Technical Credits

Andre Previn   Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach   Composer
John Williams   Composer
Antonio Vivaldi   Composer
Christoph Stickel   Mastering
Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges   Composer
Ute Fesquet   Executive Producer
Bernhard Guettler   Mixing,Editing,Recording Producer
Peter Hecker   Engineer
Eva Reisinger   Booklet Editor
Terry Linke   Photography
Julia Wesely   Cover Photo,Photography
Florian Karg   Design
Brunon Fidrych   Photography
Francisco Acosta   Photography
Kristaps Andris Austers   Assistant Engineer
Nikki Kawamura   Product Manager
Florian Rabl   Assistant Engineer
Veronica Van Groningen   Photography
Nicole Albring   Creative Producer
Zuzanna Specjal   Photography
Sandra Vijandi   Photography
Revna Karacabeyli   Project Coordinator
Mario-Felix Vogt   Liner Notes
Verena-Bruening   Photography
Ronny Zimmermann   Photography
A. Poupel   Photography
Abi Krelik   Photography
Den Sweeney   Photography
Tae Kyeong Lee   Photography
Michael Shingo Crawford   Photography