Anne-Sophie Mutter
A Biographical Timeline
. . . she played like a goddess when she first hit the headlines at 13, and she plays like one still: wonderfully responsive to the grandeur of Beethoven, to the drama of Vividly, and the exhilaration of Stravinsky, and all with the purest eloquence of tone. She thinks big and bold, and she’s a staunch promoter of new music.
Independent (London), 13 September 2005
Anne-Sophie Mutter was born in Rheinfelden in Baden. She embarked on her international career as a soloist in 1976 at the Lucerne Festival and a year later made her Salzburg debut at the Whitsun Concerts under Herbert von Karajan. Ever since then she has been in equal demand as a soloist and chamber musician, and has given concerts in all the major music centres of Europe, North America and Asia. Since her debut with Deutsche Grammophon at the age of 14, she has received innumerable prizes for her recordings.
The violinist has also committed herself to alleviating the medical and social problems of our times and gives regular benefit concerts to this end. She has been the recipient of numerous important honours and distinctions, including the Order of the Republic of Germany (First Class), the Bavarian Order of Merit, the Baden-Württemberg Medal of Merit and the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art. In 2002 she was awarded the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art and the Munich Cultural Prize of Honour. In 2003 the Bavarian State Ministry of Science, Research and Art bestowed on her the “Pro Meritis Scientiae et Litterarum” distinction and in 2005 she was made an “Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Minister of Culture.
1976 / Lucerne Festival debut1977 / Salzburg Festival debut
1978 / First recording and release for Deutsche Grammophon: Mozart Violin Concertos Nos. 3 and 5 with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic.
1980 / US debut in Washington, DC, New York and Chicago.
1981 / Japanese debut in Tokyo with Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic.
1983 / Becomes honorary president of the Mozart Society of Oxford University
1985 / Russian debut in Moscow
1986 / Appointed to the International Chair of Violin Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Gives first performance of Lutosławski’s Chain 2, with the Zurich Collegium Musicum under its dedicatee Paul Sacher. In the years to follow Mutter earns widespread acclaim for her constant dedication to contemporary works
1987 / Founds the Rudolf Eberle Trust, which supports young string players throughout Europe. This foundation’s activities are incorporated ten years later into the newly established Anne-Sophie Mutter Circle of Friends Foundation which is based in Munich and operates worldwide.
1988 / Introduces Norbert Moret’s En rêve. Extended recital tour of Canada and the US.
1990 / The Anne-Sophie Mutter Festival, held in London and Stuttgart in October, ranges from the Baroque to the contemporary avant-garde, demonstrating her wide-ranging artistic mastery and versatility.
1992 / Appears at the Tanglewood and Ravinia festivals in the US. Plays the premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s Gesungene Zeit. Deutsche Grammophon’s recording of the Rihm work, coupled with the Berg Concerto, is released this year and wins the Internationaler Schallplattenpreis Frankfurt 1993; Grammy, Edison, Classic CD Awards, 1994; Golden Harmony Award 1995.
1993 / CD release of Carmen Fantasy, with Levine and the Vienna Philharmonic which quickly becomes one of the biggest-selling recordings in Deutsche Grammophon’s history.
1994 / World premiere of Sebastian Currier’s Aftersong with Lambert Orkis in Kiel, Germany.
1995 / World premiere of Penderecki’s Metamorphosen in July, with the MDR Orchestra of Leipzig under Mariss Jansons. Release of the Violin Concerto and other works by Sibelius, with Previn conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle (CD Compact, Barcelona 1996; Edison 1997).
1996 / CD release of the Berlin Recital: works by Mozart, Brahms, Franck and Debussy, with pianist Lambert Orkis.
1998 / Devotes herself exclusively to the complete Violin Sonatas of Beethoven, which she performs all over the world with Lambert Orkis and records for Deutsche Grammophon (Echo Award 1999; Grammy 2000). Other releases include the premiere recording of Penderecki’s Second Violin Concerto, dedicated to Mutter, with the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra (Grammy 1999).
1999 / Release of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, with Mutter as soloist and conductor of the Trondheim Soloists (Amadeus Music, Golden Harmony Awards, 2000).
2000 / Undertakes a major project entitled Back to the Future: a retrospective of 20th-century’s major violin repertoire with concerts in the US (including six concerts with the New York Philharmonic and two Carnegie Hall recitals) and Europe and the release of a CD: Recording of “Recital 2000”, works by Prokofiev, Crumb, Webern and Respighi with which she tours this year with Orkis (CD Compact, Barcelona 2000). Penderecki’s Violin Sonata, commissioned by the artist, is given its first performance in London in April.
2001 / Leader and soloist in two evenings of Mozart’s complete Violin Concertos, as artist-in-residence at New York’s Carnegie Hall with the Camerata Salzburg, and with the Vienna Philharmonic in Vienna, Baden-Baden, Ingolstadt and Wiesbaden.
2002 / The year begins with Deutsche Grammophon sessions, including works by Gershwin, Brahms, Fauré, Kreisler and the first recording of Tango Song and Dance, composed for her by Sir André Previn. Tours Germany and Switzerland with Orkis and Lynn Harrell, performing piano trios by Beethoven, Brahms and Mendelssohn. Gives the premiere performances and records another work written for her by Previn, his Violin Concerto, with the composer conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra (released 2003, Grammy 2005). Performs in Royal Festival Hall the world premiere of Henri Dutilleux’s Nocturne for violin and orchestra Sur le même accord, dedicated to Mutter, with Kurt Masur conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra (DG releases the world-premiere recording in 2005, Echo Award, 2005 “World-premiere recording of the year”). Performs the Beethoven Concerto at Avery Fisher Hall with Masur and the New York Philharmonic (DG live recording released in November: CD Compact, Barcelona, Echo Award, 2003). Plays and conducts the Mozart concerto cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival.
2003 / The artist’s year begins with a tour of Germany with the Munich Philharmonic under the direction of Sir André Previn, in which she plays the Korngold Concerto, followed by a European tour with Previn and Lynn Harrell. In March she joins the Oslo Philharmonic for concerts throughout Europe. On the programme: the Previn Concerto, conducted by the composer. The new CD release entitled Tango Song and Dance furnishes the programme of a European recital tour with pianist Lambert Orkis. Performances and a new recording of the Tchaikovsky Concerto with Previn and the Wiener Philharmoniker (released 2004). With the same conductor and the Berlin Philharmonic, the artist performs the Beethoven Concerto in Berlin. After that in London, Korngold’s Concerto is on the programme (and recorded for release in 2004 with the Tchaikovsky Concerto), with Previn conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.
2004 / Once again this year she appears with many of the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors, presenting contemporary works composed for and dedicated to her – by Dutilleux (Nocturne Sur le même accord, including its North American premiere), Lutosławski (Partita, Interludium, Chain 2), Rihm (Gesungene Zeit) and Previn (Violin Concerto “Anne-Sophie”) – as well as great traditional compositions including violin concertos by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms and chamber music by Beethoven and Brahms.
2005/2006 / This season features a comprehensive homage to Mozart’s 250th anniversary and his violin works. Anne-Sophie Mutter performs the five Concertos and Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola (with violist Yuri Bashmet) as soloist and leader directing the Salzburg Camerata and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (released with great success in autumn 2005); with Lambert Orkis (piano) she performs (and record) all 16 Violin Sonatas in a recital tour extending from Europe to the USA to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan; and with Sir André Previn (piano) and cellist Daniel Müller-Schott she performs Mozart’s Piano Trios in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Poland (recorded live, also for release in 2006). The world premiere of the Violin Concerto Anthèmes III by Pierre Boulez with the composer conducting the Basel Symphony Orchestra took place in April 2006. At the October 2005 Echo Awards ceremony Anne-Sophie Mutter is named “Instrumentalist of the Year” (concertos by Tchaikovsky and Korngold), while her release of works by Dutilleux, Bartók and Stravinsky is named “World-Premiere Recording of the Year.”
In 2006 Anne-Sophie Mutter celebrates the 30th anniversary of her concert debut at Lucerne Festival. At further celebratory Mozart Festival concerts, Anne-Sophie Mutter directs the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra.
2007
2008
2009 / Anne-Sophie Mutter’s 2007 concert calendar takes her to 13 countries and features a variety of highlights. She performs and conducts Bach violin concertos and the double concerto on her European tour with the Trondheim Soloists, also featuring some of her Foundation students.
In April, Anne-Sophie performs Sir André Previn’s Double Concerto for Violin and Contrabass together with Roman Patkolò and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the composer himself. Friends of Anne Sophie Mutter Foundation commissioned the work. At the Lucerne Festival in August she gave the premiere performance of a violin concerto by Sofia Gubaidulina dedicated to Anne-Sophie Mutter. The concerto, which was commissioned by Paul Sacher, was also performed with the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle.
Anne-Sophie Mutter is this year’s recipient of the International Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.
In 2008 Anne-Sophie Mutter performs concerts in Asia, Europe and North America. During a European tour she celebrates the 100th birthday of Herbert von Karajan with Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. She performs Brahms' Violin Sonatas together with pianist Lambert Orkis in the USA and Germany and performs Antonio Vivaldi’s "The Four Seasons" during an Asian tour. In a chamber music extravaganza the violinist performs Beethoven’s String Trios together with Yuri Bashmet and Lynn Harrell. Bach’s Violin Concertos are on the program of another USA tour.
The first performance of Gubaidulina’s In tempus praesens takes place in Germany and Spain. Anne-Sophie Mutter tours Switzerland and Germany with the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra under Previn; she performs Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with the New York Philharmonic under Masur in New York, on a European tour with the Oslo Philharmonic under Saraste, with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Frühbeck de Burgos in Canada, and with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under Tilson Thomas in San Francisco; in Carnegie Hall, world premiere of Previn's Second Piano Trio with Harrell and Previn, and of Previn's Concerto for Violin and Viola with Bashmet and the Orchestra of St. Luke's under Previn. Release of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with the Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig under Masur coupled with chamber works accompanied by Previn and Harrell.