Search - Anne-Sophie Mutter :: Bach Violin Concertos & Gubaidulina ?In Tempus Praesens'

THE GREAT ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER: SUPERB BACH & SOARING GUBAIDUL

RBSProds | Deep in the heart of Texas | 10/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Five INSPIRING Stars!! BRILLIANT!! With the possibility of retirement taken off the table, Anne-Sophie Mutter, the brilliant Grammy-winning virtuoso violinist, seems to be back with an artistic vengeance presenting a program that bridges both her love of traditional and contemporary classical music. She revisits works by Bach which she recorded in her youth and performs the world premier recording of a five movement work which famed Russian contemporary composer Sofia Gubaidulina dedicated to Ms Mutter. Her performances are absolutely superb and inspiring. Her artistic choices are ably supported by Norway's famed Trondheim Soloists (TrondheimSolistene) with whom she has toured and the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of maestro Valery Gergiev. Ms Mutter uses a baroque-style bow (but no gut strings) and tightly controlled left-hand dynamics on the Bach concertos to achieve "transparency of sound and also the capacity to use Bach's original phrasing". Based on this recording, she succeeds wonderfully.



It has been over 20 years since Ms Mutter recorded the two Bach concerti and now she clearly demonstrates her changed attitude and "new ideas". Likewise, it has been almost a decade since Ms Mutter recorded the heralded Vivaldi: The Four Seasons/Tartini: The Devil's Trill with the Trondheim Soloists and the relationship, based on touring with them prior to this recording, produces a wonderfully cohesive sound and interplay on both Bach pieces. The 'pieces de resistance' of Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor are the wonderous beauty of the Andante and the Allegro assai movements. Similarly, the Adagio and Allegro assai of No 2 are of exceptional splendor. The performance of Ms Gubaidulina's dense and intense 32 minute "In tempus praesens" (In The Present Time) is soaring and emotional reflecting influences of both the Russia of her past and our modern day insecurities in her concerto without the conventional "hero" (soloist). Ms Mutter's blazing bow-work produces intense, incandescent beauty and force. The five movements are performed as one continuous passionate piece. Anne-Sophie Mutter, maestro Gergiev and the LSO, using unusual instrumentation, give this magnificent work the grandeur and angst it deserves. This is a CD of outstanding performances of great works. Kudos to all concerned. My Highest Recommendation. Five IMPRESSIVE Stars. (This review is based on an Amazon.com MP3 download. There is also both a CD and limited-edition hard bound CD package available.)

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A great new violin concerto

Oldnslow | Seattle, Washington USA | 10/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Gubaiadulina concerto is magnificant, as is Mutter's playing and Gergiev and the LSO. I have listened to this work about half a dozen times now and am more impressed every time I hear it. One continuous piece that contains about every aspect of violin playing one could ask for, with a lean, but brilliant orchestration (the use of percussion is striking and very effective). Kudos to Mutter to learn such a demanding piece. Bravo!"

The Best Bach Violin Concertos recording ever made

Perry Clark | Leawood, KS USA | 01/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, it's quite a claim. And yes, there's lots of room for argument. But, being an aficionado of Bach, classical violin, and JSB's violin concertos in particular, I'm willing to put my nickel down on Ms. Mutter's recording, especially of the A minor concerto.



From the opening notes, the piece is played with a sureness that never wavers, but doesn't play it as if strength was the most important quality. There's more body--and soul--in Mutter's version than in any other I've heard, and it successfully elevates the listener to the plane Bach intended. Mutter conducting as well as playing is no doubt key to the achievement. The A minor concerto simply cannot be played better than it is here, and the accompanying work by the Trondheim Soloists is magnificent.



The E Major concerto is just as sure and deft, but slightly less free and full than the A minor. Still stellar, it doesn't--by the barest of margins--maintain the coherence that Mutter and accompanists achieve in the A minor piece.



The disc concludes with the first-ever recording of Sophia Gubaidulina's "In tempus praesens", written by the Russian-living-in-Germany Gubaidulina as a work commissioned for Mutter. Written in 2006-07 after having been commissioned in the '80s, and first performed only in 2007, I believe, Mutter and the London Symphony, conducted by Valery Gergiev, here give an inspired performance of the the work. Gubaidulina is said to be highly inspired by Bach, and equally religious, and the work grows organically in a progression of struggle between good and evil as well as fate and free will. In five movements, the listener experiences the battle and feels the possibility of loss and defeat before finally having the sweet high of triumph.



Although allegedly inspired by Bach, the piece by Gubaidulina is decidedly modern, and only the faintest echoes of the baroque master are to be found. Though so decidedly different from the old and familiar Bach concertos, the Gubaidulina succeeds surprisingly well in this context.



If one is at all appreciative of Bach, this recording will reward the listening effort with art unsurpassed, and the experience of the culminating commissioned work by Gubaidulina is uniquely sweet. Mutter has with this established herself as one of the all-time masters."