Anne Sophie Mutter

Beethoven · Violin Sonatas · Anne-Sophie Mutter · Lambert Orkis
FLAC+CUE 1GB | EAC | Log | Scans | 1998

To celebrate their ten years of collaboration, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis recorded all ten of Beethoven's sonatas for violin and piano. Unlike most other integral sets, these recordings were made during live performances. DG already had the incendiary interpretations of Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich in its catalogue, but these new versions offer a completely different brand of volatility. The most striking example of Mutter and Orkis's radical approach can be heard in the famous "Kreutzer" Sonata, Op. 47. Violinist and pianist resort to any means possible – including exceptionally flexible tempos and an enormous palette of tone colors – in their quest to express the intensity of Beethoven's musical vision. Although the audiences are raptly silent, their presence clearly adds a palpable charge of electricity to these performances. The interpretive freedom of these performances may not appeal to all tastes, but those who value music-making as a re-creative art should find Mutter and Orkis's interpretations singularly satisfying. In any case, the daring duo defiantly counters some critics' complaints that today's performers lack personality. Andrew Farach-Colton

In March 2017, Mstislav Rostropovich would have turned 90. To celebrate this anniversary of one of the greatest cellists of all time, Deutsche Grammophon presents a truly encyclopaedic boxset which for the first time brings together Slavas complete recordings for Decca, Philips, and the Yellow Label (as cellist, pianist & conductor).

Deutsche Grammophon proudly presents 42 of its greatest ever recordings for violin, from its matchless catalogue of the finest violinists of the last 75 years. Fritz Kreisler began it all for the company by recording a series of his own compositions and arrangements. 31 violinists grace 111 The Violin, with recordings from the early 1900s to 2012.

"Between 1980 and his death in 1989, Herbert von Karajan recorded the incredible amount of 78 CDs worth of orchestral and choral music for DGG. In the final decade of his creative life, he made quintessential recordings of major works he had not recorded before: Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 “The Inextinguishable” and Saint-Saëns’ “Organ” Symphony. Among the highpoints of Karajan’s late years is the major part of his collaboration with Anne-Sophie Mutter, the “wunderkind” Karajan discovered in the late 1970s and mentored throughout the 1980s.

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.