Album

Anne-Sophie Mutter may be the only contemporary violinist who can be billed with just her initials, or who could issue a 40-CD box-set compilation of her recordings in the reasonable expectation that it would sell. This two-disc set is a sampler from the larger box. A point in its favor is that it includes one of the rarities from the complete item: a recording of the 11-year-old Mutter playing one movement of the Prokofiev Sonata for solo violin in D minor, Op. 115. Two years later, she would come to the attention of Herbert von Karajan, who, whatever his flaws, realized that her rich, Olympian tone provided the perfect complement to his orchestral visions. The first disc contains several examples of her work with Karajan, alternating concerto movements with recital pieces, both orchestral and piano accompanied. What strikes the listener is how consistent the basic Mutter tone and approach remained as she began to work with other conductors and then to broaden her repertory beyond the Romantic masterpieces, first into modern music with Lutoslawski's Partita for violin and orchestra (which she commissioned), and then into the Baroque with an ebullient Vivaldi Four Seasons performed with the Trondheim Soloists. That's an ensemble about as far from Karajan's Berlin Philharmonic as you can imagine. Even in Heifetz's arrangement of It Ain't Necessarily So, not a work in which you would expect Mutter to excel, the basic Mutter style carries the day. It's worth noting that, since a 40-CD set is out of the reach of most listeners, this two-disc set might have included a bit more in the way of complete works than it does. The only one included is the Vivaldi "Winter" concerto from the Four Seasons, not really a representative example of her style. But in general this gives newcomers an enticing taste of one of the major violinists of our time.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1 of 2
Sergey Prokofiev Composer Sonata for Solo Violin in D, Op.115 Work Recorded 1974 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin
1	1.Moderato	4:29			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Violin Concerto No.3 in G, K.216 Work Recorded 1978 Herbert von Karajan Conductor, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Sam Franko Violin Cadenza
2	1.Allegro	10:43			$1.99
Johannes Brahms Composer Double Concerto in A- for Violin and Cello, Op.102 Work Recorded 1983 Herbert von Karajan Conductor, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Antonio Meneses Cello
3	2.Andante	7:28			$1.49
Max Bruch Composer Violin Concerto No.1 in G-, Op.26 Work Recorded 1980 Herbert von Karajan Conductor, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin
4	3.Finale. Allegro energico	7:37			$1.49
Witold Lutoslawski Composer Partita, for violin, orchestra and obbligato piano (arr. from version for violin and piano) Work Recorded 1988 BBC Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Witold Lutoslawski Conductor
5	1.Allegro giusto	4:15			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer String Trio in C-, Op.9, No.3 Work Recorded 1988 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Mstislav Rostropovich Cello, Bruno Giuranna Viola
6	3.Scherzo. Allegro molto e vivace	3:08			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Violin Sonata No.7 in C-, Op.30, No.2 ('Eroica') Work Recorded 1998 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Lambert Orkis Piano
7	3.Scherzo: Allegro	3:35			$0.99
Jean Sibelius Composer Violin Concerto in D-, Op.47 Work Recorded 1995 André Previn Conductor, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra
8	1.Allegro moderato	15:48			$2.49
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Beau soir ('Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivières sont roses'), L.6 Work Recorded 1995 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Lambert Orkis Piano
9	Beau soir, L.6 (arr. violin and piano)	3:00			$0.99
Pablo de Sarasate Composer Zigeunerweisen ('Gypsy Airs'), Op.20 Work Recorded 1992 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, James Levine Conductor
10	Zigeunerweisen ('Gypsy Airs'), Op.20	8:35			$1.49
Johannes Brahms Composer Violin Concerto in D, Op.77 Work Recorded 1997 New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Kurt Masur Conductor
11	3.Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace	7:56			$1.49
CD 2 of 2
Antonio Vivaldi Composer L'inverno (Winter) in F-, RV297, Op.8, No.4 Work Recorded 1999 10:09 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Trondheim Soloists Ensemble
1	1.Allegro non molto	3:32			$0.99
2	2.Largo	2:47			$0.99
3	3.Allegro	3:50			$0.99
Sergey Prokofiev Composer Violin Sonata No.2 in D, Op.94bis Work Recorded 2000 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Lambert Orkis Piano
4	2.Scherzo: Presto	4:46			$0.99
George Gershwin Composer Porgy and Bess (opera)...Act 2 Work Recorded 2002 André Previn Piano, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin
5	11.Scene 2: It ain't necessarily so	2:40			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Violin Concerto in D, Op.61 Work Recorded 2002 New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Fritz Kreisler Violin Cadenza, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Kurt Masur Conductor
6	3.Rondo: Allegro	10:09			$1.99
Leonard Bernstein Composer Serenade (after Plato: Symposium), for violin, harp, percussion, and strings Work Recorded 2003 André Previn Conductor, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
7	4.Agathon: Adagio	7:48			$1.49
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer Violin Concerto in D, Op.35 Work Recorded 2003 André Previn Conductor, Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
8	3.Finale: Allegro vivacissimo	9:31			$1.49
Johannes Brahms Composer Violin Sonata No.1 in G, Op.78 Work Recorded 2009 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Lambert Orkis Piano
9	3.Allegro molto moderato	8:29			$1.49
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Violin Concerto in A-, BWV1041 Work Recorded 2007 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Trondheim Soloists Ensemble
10	2.Andante	6:40			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Violin Sonata No.32 in Bb, K.454 Work Recorded 2006 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Lambert Orkis Piano
11	2.Andante	8:30			$1.49
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Composer Violin Concerto in E-, Op.64 Work Recorded 2008 Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig Orchestra, Kurt Masur Conductor
12	3.Allegretto non troppo. Allegro molto vivace	6:15			$0.99