Antonín Dvořák - Violin Concerto; Romance; Mazurek; Humoresque (Anne-Sophie Mutter)

Information

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

1. Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53: 1. Allegro ma non troppo - Quasi moderato
2. Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53: 2. Adagio ma non troppo
3. Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53: 3. Finale (Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo)
4. Romance in F minor, Op. 11
5. Mazurek, Op. 49
6. Humoresque, Op. 101, No. 7 (arr. Fritz Kreisler)

Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Manfred Honeck (1-5)
Ayami Ikeba, piano (6)
Date: 2013

Label: Deutsche Grammophon
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4791060

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

Anne-Sophie Mutter has developed into an artist of striking and controversial individuality. Her recent recordings have been the subject of widely divided critical opinion, both within these pages and elsewhere, and that’s a healthy thing. Whatever one’s personal view of her highly subjective approach to matters of timbre, phrasing, and accentuation, virtually everyone agrees that she remains a violinist of remarkable technical ability whose interpretations stem from a sincere engagement with the work, and the ability to get exactly the results that she intends.

This performance of Dvorák’s Violin Concerto is a case in point, and I have no issue acclaiming it as the finestversion yet to appear outside of the classic Czech tradition. Mutter treats the work in the grand style, turning in a performance of bold gestures, hugely contrasted in tone, tempo, and dynamics. She’s assisted in no small degree by Manfred Honeck, a conductor of genius who plays the accompaniment for all it’s worth, with the Berlin Philharmonic sounding magnificently committed. One need only compare the opening of the piece in this performance to the reference edition by Suk/Ancerl with the Czech Philharmonic to appreciate the difference in approach (sound clips). Listen to Honeck attack the opening gesture, and to Mutter’s big, husky tone and wide range of dynamics. Suk’s by no means inexpressive approach sounds positively demure in comparison.

Mutter also has a habit, very noticeable in the slow movement, of beginning a soft phrase non-vibrato and then adding quite a bit later on, and in less sensitive hands this could turn into a mannerism–but not here. It’s all a function of a heightened expressivity that typifies her approach to the music, and when the melodies themselves are so full of feeling it works extremely well. It’s also important not to get the impression that the performance is in any way droopy or sloppily self-indulgent. The finale is one of the friskiest and rhythmically sharp on disc (Honeck and Berlin stupendous here), with a coda that truly does offer the last word in physical excitement (sound clip). There are times when Mutter sounds so luscious and over-the-top that you feel guilty liking her so much, but the love that she radiates has its roots firmly in the musical phrase, and in her joy in the work.

The couplings are also marvelous, and so very intelligent: Dvorák’s remaining pieces for violin and orchestra. The Romance is made to sound touchingly profound, the Mazurek simply a blast from start to finish, and the Humoresque, in Kreisler’s arrangement with piano, surprisingly delicate and witty. Ayami Ikeba provides sensitive keyboard support in this last item. Whatever your final view of the interpretations, Mutter truly “speaks” through her instrument, and what she says sheds an entirely new light on Dvorák, and repays the closest attention.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More info & reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/Dec13/Dvorak_Mutter_4791984.htm
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/d/dgg791060a.php
http://www.thestrad.com/cpt-reviews/dvoak-violin-concerto-in-a-minor-op-531-romance-in-f-minor-op-112-mazurek-in-e-minor-op-493-humoresque-in-g-flat-op-101-no-7-arr-kreisler/
http://www.allmusic.com/album/dvor%C3%A1k-violin-concerto-mw0002579148
http://www.amazon.com/Dvor%C2%A0k-Violin-Concerto-Anne-Sophie-Mutter/dp/B00DNVJ0IQ

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Antonín Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer. Following the nationalist example of Bedřich Smetana, Dvořák frequently employed aspects, specifically rhythms, of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. He wrote nine symphonies, ten operas, three concertos, several symphonic poems and more than 40 works of chamber music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k

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Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 29 June 1963) is a German violinist. Supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan, she has built a strong reputation for championing contemporary music with several works being composed specially for her. She owns two Stradivarius violins (The Emiliani of 1703, and the Lord Dunn-Raven Stradivarius of 1710), a Finnigan-Klaembt dated 1999 and a Regazzi, dated 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne-Sophie_Mutter

http://www.anne-sophie-mutter.de/

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