Customer Reviews

Brahms: Violin Concerto / Schumann: Fantasie, Op. 131 ~ Mutter

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thought that Mutter's earlier recording of the Brahms concerto with Herbert von Karajan was one of the best I'd ever heard, but along came this new recording which blew that notion to bits. This recording is simply perfection, and in a piece which has been described by some as "too cerebral" with an overly long (and boring) First Movement, Mutter manages to keep the listener interested and engaged throughout. The cadenza and finishing lines of the First Movement are masterful and beautiful, and the pacing of the Second Movement makes it a perfect "calm zone" between the first and third movements. In the Third Movement, Mutter again out-does herself. I thought that I'd never hear a better rendition of the Third Movement than the one she recorded with von Karajan, but she proved me wrong. The musical lines of this movement are actually quite lyrical despite their martial feel, and Mutter is the only artiste I have heard (apart, perhaps, from Oistrakh) who has the technical command and lyricism to bring out these melodies. If you only listen to one recording of the Brahms concerto in your lifetime, this might as well be it. After all, you'll also be treated to a splendid "encore" in the Schumann Fantasie, which sounds like a technical nightmare for the violinist but is sheer pleasure and thrill for the listener, especially when the violinist is Anne-Sophie Mutter. Just note how she commands the piece, hopping, skipping, tripping and sliding through those notes as though having fun in the playground. Simply sensational. Highly, highly recommended.

One thing that has impressed me about Anne-Sophie Mutter is that, unlike many other virtuosos, she has continually improved during the span of her career. Her new Brahms concerto shows a musically maturity unseen in her 1981 recording with Karajan.

This is simply the best Brahms Concerto ever, and I've heard many Brahms Concertos - Perlman, Vengerov, Heifetz, Hahn, Mintz, etc... Mutter's performance here is superior in every respect to all other recordings. Mutter probes the music of Brahms and finds profound meaning in the piece. Her fiery entrance in I, the passion with which she performs the section after the cadenza, and her passionate performance of II are unmatched. This is the best Brahms concerto ever, period.

Anne-Sophie Mutter's latest recording of Brahms' Violin Concerto is among her finest concerti recordings. It easily eclipses her earlier recording with Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic, also on Deutsche Grammophon. She plays with great passion and lyricism throughout the score, though she really takes off in the third movement. Without question, her playing of the third movement is quite simply the most lyrical, and rhapsodic that I have heard from anyone. Masur and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra give a vibrant, warm performance of such clarity, that you might think it was a chamber orchestra backing her, not one of the five great American orchestras. The rarely heard Schumann Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra is a fine addition, though her performance isn't quite as compelling as the Brahms Violin Concerto. While this recording won't replace my recommendations of Vengerov and Kremer as first choice for the Brahms Violin Concerto, it does come quite close.

What a CD, what version of this Brahms-evergreen! I have compared this one with the classic version from Stern/Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra, which is by all means not a bad recording, of course, but this one here blows the older one from the socket. Is it Mutter, is it the New York Philharmonic, is it Masur??? Naturally, it is all of them and much much more. It is the perfect symbiosis of the philharmonic sound with the virtuoso, an unprecedented understanding and harmony. Masur and the orchestra appear to constantly know where Mutter is going, they don't have to follow, they know where they should be, and that is what sparks the energy, unleashes the freshness and the easyness which make this recording a not-to-miss Brahms event.

All reviewers gave this recording five stars, which makes sense because this has to be among the finest performances of this concerto ever. I'll give it five stars too, but I'd like to draw attention to one thing: the rapid vibrato that permeates the first and last movements. It is as if Mutter has plugged herself into an electric socket & turned the juice up really high. I have never heard anything like it; though I've come to love her style here, it sets this performance apart from others by its sheer intensity. Should one desire a gentler Brahms, look elsewhere. Mutter dedicated this record to her deceased husband, and it seems she has incorporated a lifetime of emotion into her playing. Her impeccable precision and a nice job by the New York Philharmonic make this one a keeper.

Anne-Sophie Mutter has such command of her insturment, and rightfully so. The two pieces she performs on this recording are techniquely accurate, yet unbelievably emotional. When I listen to this recording, which I do quite frequently, I am constantly reminded of such artists as Heifetz, Oistrakh, and Milstein. They were the finest players of their time. They were trained in the romantic ways of music making. Anne-Sophie Mutter is still growing as an artist, as one can tell from her first recording of the Brahms concerto and has done so magnificently. Anne-Sophie Mutter, when she plays these works, seems to be playing with such excitement, passion, and vigor, as if she had just learned them and could not put down her fiddle. If you want to hear some of the finest music making buy this recording, you will not be disapointed. This is the best recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto and probably the only recording of the Schumann Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra in C, and it's performed impecably.

Former child prodigy Anne-Sophie Mutter went on to become the glam lady in low-cut dresses. Now she's a mature musician and an acknowledged star. But she's also well known for her impulse toward over-refined, fussy playing. Here she starts off with a strike against her--the slack, lifeless introduction to the first movement from Masur. (Whatever miracle David Hurwitz hears in Masur's conducting has occurred in his own head.)

Then Mutter enters, and the level of musicianship rises dramatically. Her strong, assured playing holds the stage immediately. Compared to violinists whose ideas I admire (Kremer, Menuhin, Vengerov, Oistrakh, Shaham) she is a "personality" violinist who draws attention to herself at every moment. That said, Mutter carries you along, and her tone and technique are impeccable, at times mesmerizing.

After a first movement that could use more pace, the second is at normal speed (timing 9:20) and begins with lovely oboe work from the NY Phil's first chair. Mutter plays with a warm, burnished tone, and although she inflects the melody more than anyone else I've heard, her notions are appealing. She begins the finale forcefully, and at a timing of 7:55 the pace is moderate. Masur has waked up by now, and their collaboration produces the first real sparks of the performance. Mutter remains fully in charge to the end, helped by close-up miking that makes her louder than the orchestra.

In all, a good outing that should satisfy her legion of fans. The absence of a fifth star is entirely Masur's doing.

This is a recording of the over-played Brahms concerto that is going to really blow you away. No other versions can compare in its beauty, intensity, passion. From the moment she enters, Mutter means business. Usually things are slow to take off for the solo violinist, but here is an exception. Her famous dulcet tone is used to the fullest advantage and the phrasings are just to die for! I wasn't particularly impressed by the New York Phil's rather cool and dry accompaniment at the beginning, but once Mutter was in charge, they became 'warmer' in their approach and made a soft cushion for Mutter to rely on. In the lyrical moments, she is precisely that - lyrical. She just sings the cliched melodies as if they were something to really savour and makes them sound afresh. Her cadenza is the Joachim cadenza, in a 'revision' by Ossip Schnirlin, which is nothing more than just a few rhythmic changes to the notes that Joachim wrote for his cadenza. But it emerges as something that is very original and new. I find it very convincing indeed.

The second movement is very touching for its simplicity. It is as if she is in some kind of personal conversation with someone.Well, I thought the whole concerto sounded like a conversation. Some have suggested the dedication of this recording to her late husband might have something to do with this personal interpretation. Her high notes don't sound high, but sweet. The significance of pitch vanishes and you get to hear things that are pretty remarkable. Her use of vibrato is phenomenal. I have never heard a violinist before or since who can do the things Mutter can with vibrato.

The last movement is the most impressive. This Brahms is the first version I heard so naturally when I heard other performances, I compared them with this Mutter recording. Now, most violinists play the theme of the finale in a straight way, just as they are written. Mutter's use of rubato here is most impressive. In other hands, use of rubato at the start of the Finale would sound indulgent, but here it doesn't. Instead it sounds ecstatic from the start. Sheer joy permeates from thisperformance of the last movement. The orchestra and Kurt Masur sound like chamber partners here, listening to Mutter's phrasings and answering her, and vice versa. The concerto finishes in a most wonderful way. I really regret that applause (the recording was taken from live performances of the work in 1997) wasn't included after the finish. It would have made the whole thing so complete. But no matter, the playing here is no less than superb. Basically the whole thing flows so naturally, it's impossible to hear this played any other way without any complaints. Mutter plays as if her life depended on it. Her Stradivarius does her and Brahms proud.

The Schumann piece is rarely performed, so I was glad to get to know a piece unfamiliar to me. It suits Mutter, although on occasion she over-emphasises some of the phrasings, making the piece sound more schmaltzy than it really is: it gets the full Mutter treatment. But the point is made in that she gets the piece across to the listener as a work of significant merit than people like to give credit Schumann for. It ends in an exalted C major chord, bringing the gloriously joyful disc to an end. The recorded sound is a typical DG sound. Clear and vibrant, with the soloist forwardly placed, to give a more wholistic rather than realistic definition. Mutter has always been forwardly placed in her recordings and it seems to suit her. As long as we get a good picture of Mutter's sound, I'm not complaining. In other words, a great CD with great sound! You will rarely find a better performance of this much-loved work. It will become a classic recording, standing alongside the legendary recordings of Oistrakh, Neveu and Perlman.

Having been listening to Anne Sophie Mutter for years I admire her exceptional command of the violin but I love the emotional side of her playing. Whatever she plays she puts herself into it. Not only technically superb playing (listen to the bow attack) but the feeling is tremedous.

Ries "Dutchman in Ireland"

As far as this one goes. What can I say. I love Brahms. And this is I think how his violin concerto should sound like. Listen for yourself.

Anne-Sophie Mutter is one of the super-violinists of today, and this recording is an astonishing demonstration of no-holds-barred virtuosic playing. Comparing the first-movement cadenza of the Brahms with Mutter's recording of 1982 with Karajan and the Berlin, I notice that the current performance is much freer and more improvisatory. It reminded me a little of the way Ravel's "Tzigane" is performed. This may not appeal to everyone. In fact, throughout the first movement of the Brahms, she takes a number of liberties with the tempo to make an expressive point. This affects my perception of the work's structure and momentum, things that I think are especially important in Brahms. Lovers of this work will want several different recordings, including great ones from the past, such as Oistrakh, Heifetz and Menuhin/Furtwaengler for comparison.

This disc does offer an advantage in that it includes Schumann's rarely heard C Major Fantasie, in an orchestration by Fritz Kreisler, beautifully performed.