{"id":43948,"date":"2024-06-06T15:31:21","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T13:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4c452271-ffbc-4cf5-a409-8684984e5d67"},"modified":"2024-06-06T15:36:11","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T13:36:11","slug":"anne-sophie-mutter-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-legendary-german-violinist-who-returns-to-the-proms-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/anne-sophie-mutter-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-legendary-german-violinist-who-returns-to-the-proms-this-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Anne-Sophie Mutter: all you need to know about the legendary German violinist who returns to the Proms this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 06 June 2024 at 13:31 PM<\/p>

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She\u2019ll be performing at the 2024 BBC Proms<\/a> with conductor Daniel Barenboim<\/a> and his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. But who is violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter?<\/strong><\/p>

Who is Anne-Sophie Mutter?<\/h2>
Anne-Sophie Mutter<\/a><\/strong> is a German violinist<\/a><\/strong>. A former child prodigy, she was supported early in her career by legendary conductor<\/a><\/strong> Herbert von Karajan<\/a><\/strong> and gained prominence in the 1970s and 80s. She has recorded over 50 albums, mostly for Deutsche Grammophon, and performed as a soloist with the world\u2019s leading orchestras. As a violinist<\/a><\/strong>, she is known for her authority on stage and the intensity of her sound.<\/p>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anne-Sophie Mutter performs the third movement of Tchaikovsky\u2019s Violin Concerto with Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-when-and-where-was-anne-sophie-mutter-born\">When and where was Anne-Sophie Mutter born?<\/h2>Mutter was born in the German town of Rheinfelden, Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg on 29 June 1963. Neither her parents nor her two older brothers played a musical instrument, but her whole family loved classical music.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/anne-sophie-mutter-interview\">Anne-Sophie Mutter: ‘there’s a crisis in violin playing’<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-when-did-she-first-learn-to-play-the-violin\">When did she first learn to play the violin?<\/h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/anne-sophie-mutter-interview\">Anne-Sophie Mutter<\/a><\/strong> started playing the violin at the age of five, and was initially influenced by two teachers. The first was Erna Honigberger, a former Carl Flesch student, who took the six-year-old Mutter to her first concert \u2013 featuring renowned violinist David Oistrakh.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>Honigberger died when Mutter was just nine, and she subsequently studied with Aida Stucki, also a former student of Flesch, who she credits with encouraging her students to become distinctive performers: \u2018She was a total genius. Looking back, I realise how personalised her choice of repertoire was at each stage of the development of her students.\u2019<\/p>Mutter was also supported early in her career by conductor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/trouble-karajan\">Herbert von Karajan<\/a><\/strong> and made her orchestral debut with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/berlin-philharmonics-past-chief-conductors\">Berlin Philharmonic<\/a><\/strong> in 1977, aged just 13. \u2018He was able to bring the best out in all of us,\u2019 she said. \u2018It was a mixture of the huge respect we all had for him and maybe a tad of fear that you would not be good enough \u2013 or maybe a lot of fear! He had the way of listening to all of us, and particularly the soloist, and to carry you through the concert. He was very strict, very demanding in rehearsals.\u2019<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/karajan-conducting-five-fantastic-karajan-moments\">5 fantastic Karajan moments<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/trouble-karajan\">The trouble with Herbert von Karajan<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/controversy-karajan-eight-quotes\">The controversy of Herbert von Karajan in 8 quotes<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-anne-sophie-mutter-most-famous-for\">What is Anne-Sophie Mutter most famous for?<\/h2>Mutter made her public debut with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/kirill-petrenko-new-berlin-phil-chief-conductor\">Berlin Philharmonic<\/a><\/strong> conducted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/controversy-karajan-eight-quotes\">Herbert von Karajan<\/a><\/strong> in 1976 at the age of 13, playing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-of-mozart\">Mozart<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Fourth Violin Concerto, followed in 1977 by a performance with the English Chamber Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim at the Salzburg Festival. From the outset, critics commented on the strength and maturity of her playing<\/p>Now aged 60, she has performed and recorded with the world\u2019s best orchestras, conductors and musicians for almost 50 years.<\/p>Mutter performs traditional classical violin works by the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/10-mozart-myths\">Mozart<\/a><\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/top-20-beethoven-works\">Beethoven<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/johannes-brahms\">Brahms<\/a><\/strong>, but is also known for working with contemporary composers. She has had works composed especially for her by Thomas Ad\u00e8s, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/unsuk-chin\">Unsuk Chin<\/a><\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/henri-dutilleux-2\">Henri Dutilleux<\/a><\/strong>, Sofia Gubaidulina, Witold Lutos\u0142awski, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/obituary-krzysztof-penderecki\">Krzysztof Penderecki<\/a><\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/andr-previn-1929-2019\">Andr\u00e9 Previn<\/a><\/strong>, Wolfgang Rihm, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/jorg-widmann\">J\u00f6rg Widmann<\/a><\/strong>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/williams-john\">John Williams<\/a><\/strong>. Thus far, she given world premieres of 31 works.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/tv-and-film-music\/john-williams-best-scores\">10 best John Williams scores of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>She is known for supporting young string players and created her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.anne-sophie-mutter.de\/en\/page\/anne-sophie-mutter-foundation\/\">Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation<\/a><\/strong> in 1997 to offer them scholarships, instruments, lessons and advice \u2013 recipients have included Daniel M\u00fcller-Schott, Sergey Khachatryan and Arabella Steinbacher.<\/p>She has received numerous awards throughout her long career, including four Grammys.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Anne-Sophie Mutter, Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bSGBBipsKf8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anne-Sophie Mutter performs under Herbert von Karajan in the 1980s.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/ten-great-women-violinists-by-coco-tomita\">10 of the best female violinists<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-anne-sophie-mutter-s-best-recordings\">What are Anne-Sophie Mutter\u2019s best recordings?<\/h2>In 1978, at the age of 15, Mutter made her first recording of the Mozart Third and Fifth <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/mozart-violin-concertos-the-best-recordings\">violin concertos<\/a><\/strong> with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic. Since then, she has recorded over 50 albums, mostly for Deutsche Grammophon, encompassing everything from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-of-mozart\">Mozart<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/how-did-beethoven-cope-going-deaf\">Beethoven<\/a><\/strong> to contemporary composers, tango, and film music by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/john-williams-awarded-an-honorary-knighthood\">John Williams<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/20-greatest-violinists-ever\">20 greatest violinists of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-has-mutter-played-at-the-proms-before\">Has Mutter played at the Proms before?<\/h2>Anne-Sophie Mutter has performed eight times at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/bbc-proms\/2024-bbc-proms-listings\">Proms<\/a><\/strong> in previous years. Her first appearance was in 1985 when she played the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/five-essential-works-brahms\">Brahms Violin Concerto<\/a><\/strong>. She then appeared in 1986 in Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s Violin Concerto; in 1988 performing Lutos\u0142awski under the composer himself; in 1992 performing Berg\u2019s Violin Concerto under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/michael-tilson-thomas-announces-brain-cancer-diagnosis-stepping-down-from-orchestra\">Michael Tilson Thomas<\/a><\/strong>; in 1996 in Brahms\u2019s Violin Concerto with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/gustavo-dudamel-announced-as-music-director-of-new-york-philharmonic\">New York Philharmonic<\/a><\/strong> under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/kurt-masur-1927-2015\">Kurt Masur<\/a><\/strong>; in 2004 premiering Andr\u00e9 Previn\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0Concerto for Violin ‘Anne-Sophie’, conducted by Previn himself; in 2011 with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; and in 2017, again with the Pittsburgh players, in Dvo\u0159\u00e1k.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-violin-concertos-of-all-time\">The best violin concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>In 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/events\/egfcd4\">she joins Daniel Barenboim and his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra<\/a><\/strong> to perform the Brahms Concerto \u2013 the same work she played at her very first Prom in 1985.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/john-williams-awarded-an-honorary-knighthood\">2024 Proms performers: who is performing at this year’s Proms?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/bbc-proms\/when-are-bbc-proms-tv\">When are the BBC Proms on TV in 2024?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-anne-sophie-mutter-s-marriage-to-andre-previn\">Anne-Sophie Mutter\u2019s marriage to Andr\u00e9 Previn<\/h2>In 1989, Mutter married her first husband, lawyer Detlef Wunderlich, with whom she had two children. Wunderlich died of cancer in 1995. She then married German-American pianist, composer and conductor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/five-must-hear-recordings-andr-previn\">Andr\u00e9 Previn<\/a><\/strong> in 2002. The couple divorced in 2006, but continued to collaborate musically until Previn\u2019s death in 2019.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/andr-previn-1929-2019\">Andr\u00e9 Previn Obituary: 1929-2019<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/five-must-hear-recordings-andr-previn\">5 must-hear recordings of Andr\u00e9 Previn<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-which-violin-does-anne-sophie-mutter-play\">Which violin does Anne-Sophie Mutter play?<\/h2>Mutter owns two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/what-stradivarius\">Stradivari<\/a><\/strong> violins: the \u2018Emiliani\u2019 of 1703, and the \u2018Lord Dunn-Raven\u2019 Stradivari of 1710. Mutter primarily performs on the \u2018Lord Dunn-Raven\u2019 and has said: \u2018It has a tiger-like quality to its sound, which means that in the big concertos it can bring a roaring, forceful voice if needed.\u2019<\/p>Photo: Harald Hoffmann \/ DG<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Published: Thursday, 06 June 2024 at 13:31 PM She\u2019ll be performing at the 2024 BBC Proms with conductor Daniel Barenboim and his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. But who is violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter? Who is Anne-Sophie Mutter? Anne-Sophie Mutter is a German violinist. 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But who is violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter? Who is Anne-Sophie Mutter? Anne-Sophie Mutter is a German violinist. 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