Mutter, Anne Sophie

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Anne Sophie Mutter

Violin

German violinist Anne Sophie Mutter’s trademark qualities were described by Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times as, “rich yet focused (in) tone, striking varieties of sound, articulate yet supple rhythmic play…. Her increasing work in recent years with living composers has brought a new kind of intellectual energy to her playing.” Mutter performed magnificently throughout a “Beethoven: Face to Face” world tour in 1998, performing and simultaneously recording for Deutsche Grammophon all ten of Beethoven’s violin sonatas. Mutter is lauded for her imaginative and accomplished playing, but she is also noted for her sophisticated beauty. Tommasini wrote, “Special lighting onstage drew attention to Ms. Mutter’s glamour. In her sleek, shoulderless gown, with her auburn hair pulled back, she could have turned heads on Oscar night. But, as usual, it took just a few phrases for Ms. Mutter to establish that she is a thoughtful, dedicated artist.” James R. Oestreich wrote in the New York Times, “The more Ms. Mutter trades on a glamorous image, it seems, the more surely she is recognized for her essential seriousness as an artist and a person.”

Mutter was born in 1964 and spent her teen years and early 20s as a protegee of famed Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan. She is often described as intense, an adjective she often uses to describe herself both artistically and personally in interviews as well. Much of her musical intensity was derived from her time spent with von Karajan, as he would rehearse tirelessly at an elderly age—with painstaking precision—to improve upon an already acceptable piece. His absolute will and determination impressed Mutter at a young age, and she is now known for being equally precise with herself and for devoting herself entirely to her music. She told Oestreich, “It was incredibly touching to see (Karajan), who was not very young anymore, going on stage at ten o’clock in the morning and rehearsing the piece the orchestra had played so gloriously the evening before. Nobody would have thought there was anything you could possibly do better, and he started again from scratch.”

American pianist Lambert Orkis, Mutter’s musical partner, has attested to the fact that Mutter shares von Karajan’s work ethic. He told Oestreich, “There’s something to be said for this endless polishing. What comes to mind is Michelangelo and the Pieta… how he would be on his way to something else and go by and give it a few more polishes. It’s never quite finished. That’s the beauty of this music.” Much of Mutter’s work throughout the 1990s was dedicated to contemporary music, playing works by Witold Lutoslawski, Norbert Moret, Wolfgang Rihm, and others. She anticipates new works from Andre Previn, Pierre Boulez, and Sofia Gubaiduline. Change and growth have marked Mutter’s professional course even though she was blessed with a pure, beautiful tone at the onset—which would have allowed her to coast effortlessly through a lucrative career. The fact that she kept expanding her repertory and technique and searched for ways to grow defines her more than anything else.

Kurt Masur led the New York Philharmonic in Mutter’s recording of the “Brahms Violin Concerto” in 1997; he told Oestreich in 1998, “I followed her in those early years, but her playing today has nothing to do with her childhood. She is not only serious but deeply profound. Very few people could do what she does in Beethoven and Brahms, not just playing it but bringing a depth of philosophy to understand what these composers wanted to tell us. And yet there is still a kind of innocence in her playing.” Mutter has attributed her style to her time spent working on contemporary music which provided the impetus for her deep interest in analyzing, understanding, and reading a score. She told Oestreich, “When you have to learn a completely new piece, a foreign language for which you have nearly no clue at all, you have to be much more precise in your research than you would in approaching a style period with which you have grown up….Much of what we have grown up with we don’t analyze anymore. We don’t put question marks.”

For the Record…

Born 1964; married Detlef Wunderlich, 1989; two children, daughter named Arabella.

Spent her teen years and early 20s as a protegee of famed conductor Herbert von Karajan; began recording with Karajan, 1978; released more than 22 recordings since then; collaborated with American pianist Lambert Orkis, 1988; performed the “Beethoven: Face to Face” world tour with Orkis, 1998; simultaneously recorded world tour for Deutsche Grammophon

Addresses: Record company —Deutsche Grammophon/Polygram, 825 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10019, (212)333-8000.

Mutter married Karajan’s former lawyer, Detlef Wunderlich, in 1989. He died in 1995, leaving her alone with two young children. Mutter guards her private life zealously, but Kurt Masur speculated when speaking to Oestreich that personal difficulties may have had a deepening effect on her musical interpretations. Mutter did tell Oestreich that she was delighted when she saw her six year old daughter Arabella dancing to the “Berg Violin Concerto.” An English reviewer found Mutter’s Deutsche Grammophon recording of Sarasate’s “Carmen Fantasy” and other supposedly light pieces far too overpowering and intense. Mutter’s response to the reviewer when speaking with Oestreich was, “Poor man. The singer of Carmen is a very intense woman. Maybe a woman with whom some men cannot deal, but that doesn’t make her too intense.” In a way, this sentiment sums up Mutter’s approach to her work and life as well. She highlights her glamour, knowing full well it couldn’t overshadow her artistry and talent, and she throws herself into her work as passionately as she guards her private life. She’s a professional in every sense of the word.

Mutter has worked with her collaborator, American pianist Lambert Orkis, since 1988. For their “Beethoven: Face to Face” tour, they decided to perform at least five of Beethoven’s ten violin sonatas in one performance, which constitutes a solid two hours of weighty music. Mutter and Orkis wanted to present the body of music not only in chronological order but also in coherent stylistic groupings, disregarding their physical ease of performance or the audience comfort level. Mutter confided with Oestreich saying, “The wonderful thing about playing these sonatas in the composed order is that you really get into the right state of mind. In the ‘Sonata No. 10’, for example, after having played all nine of the others, you are physically stressed, and therefore you have the peace of mind, the tranquillity you need for the last sonata. It’s like climbing the mountain for real, not just faking that you did it when you actually got there by helicopter.”

Mutter has planned a program of song and dance anchored by the forthcoming new piece by Andre Previn in 1999 and, in the year 2000 she plans to present a fiveprogram retrospective of the musical 20th century, complete with a new sonata by composer Penderecki. She also plans to become involved in a piano trio if she can find the right cellist, and her standards are exacting. When speaking to Oestreich about the incredible energy Rostropovich still has at the age of 71, she revealed a bit about herself by saying, “It’s obviously something he was born with, but it’s also something which is essential to his playing and essential to music altogether. If you don’t burn from both ends, then why do it? Why bother?”