Simply Anne-Sophie

Antonio Vivaldi (Composer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Jules Massenet (Composer), Fritz Kreisler (Composer), Andre Previn (Composer), Johannes Brahms (Composer), George Gershwin (Composer), Pablo de Sarasate (Composer), Anne-Sophie Mutter (Conductor), Kurt Masur (Conductor), James Levine (Conductor), Trondheim Soloists (Performer), London Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), New York Philharmonic (Orchestra), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Lambert Orkis (Performer), André Previn (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Trondheim Soloists, Lambert Orkis, André Previn
• Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Anne-Sophie Mutter, Kurt Masur, James Levine
• Composer: Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Jules Massenet, Fritz Kreisler, et al.
• Audio CD (October 10, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000HXDEVW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,807 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Although this CD's title, Simply Anne-Sophie, implies trifles, and the selection here, taken from the violinist's previous recordings, is not challenging, there's nothing simple about Mutter's virtuosity or commitment to the music. The Meditation from Thais is ravishing, "Summertime" sings as it should, the Four Seasons excerpt is fresh and dashing, the Rondeau from Mozart's Third Concerto is filled with energy, and the Adagio from the Fifth is warm and meltingly played. The CD ends with Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy, which makes up in jaw-dropping skill what it lacks in musical substance. Accompanied by orchestras led by Kurt Masur and James Levine and with pianists André Previn and Lambert Orkis, this collection is a great introduction to Mutter's gifts and a grand entertainment. --Robert Levine

Product Description

ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER is one of the best-known classical musicians in the US, and her concert appearances here are sold-out events. Her contributions to the violin repertoire, her extraordinary collaborations with the most accomplished and elite of musical partners, and her unstinting devotion to excellence point to a legacy of unequalled brilliance.

2006 is the 30th anniversary of the beginning of Ms. Mutter’s public career, which has intersected with and influenced the lives of so many important musicians of the era and inspired the minds and hearts of millions of listeners around the globe. Simply Anne-Sophie offers a great musical overview of her brilliant career.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing New, December 1, 2006

By 

Jeffrey M. Wagner (Corvallis Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Simply Anne-Sophie (Audio CD)

Anne Sophie is among my favorite violinists and she is nothing but excellent throughout this whole cd. But the recordings are pulled from previous releases. The Carmen sequence suffers badly from the recording and contains the identical flaws that the original release did on her previous Carmen Fantasy cd. As an introduction to ASM I recommend it. Her playing is as great as ever. But you will not find anything new here and the recordings are less than stellar.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Splashes of Brilliance and Extended Sensuousness from Prior Recordings, March 8, 2007

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Simply Anne-Sophie (Audio CD)

This is my favorite CD by Anne-Sophie Mutter. I hope you'll have the pleasure of listening to it.

Simply Anne-Sophie would be more aptly named, Gorgeous Excerpts of Anne-Sophie's Best Recordings. Five segments are five minutes or less. The longest section clocks in at 12 and a half minutes.

I thought the selections were well chosen to present a wide range of her abilities and musical subjects. How many recordings do you own that contain on a single CD part of The Four Seasons, two Mozart violin concertos, Beethoven's romance number two for violin and piano, Meditation from Thais, Brahms' Hungarian Dance number six, George Gershwin's Summertime, and Pablo de Sarasate's Fantaisie de concert sur des motifs de Carmen?

The order of the selections is interesting. Ms. Mutter begins as close to classical roots as her style ever does, then slows down into expressive pieces, and ends with rousing energy and joie de vivre.

As a result, I often play this CD as a mood piece to inspire me during a difficult task. By the end, I'm filled with enthusiasm, energy, and a sense of unlimited confidence. Those are all good feelings to have as a writer sits down to face a blank computer screen.

The other advantage of this work is that you can sample her styles to see if you might be interested in buying a CD that provides more in that style. From my perspective, I thought that only the excerpt from The Four Seasons is misleading about the joys that the full CDs offer. For me, the first allegro from Spring is by far the best part of her Four Seasons CD; the rest is not nearly so enjoyable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great Compilation, November 29, 2010

By 

Wayne Fogel (The Villages, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Simply Anne-Sophie (Audio CD)

The reviewer that complained that,"... there is nothing new here" missed the point of the disk. This was not one more performance of Bethoven or Mozart, it was instead a collection of her performances that form a first rate listening experience.

While I realize that there are many music lovers that do not want to hear a piece unless it is played from beginning to end, there are others of us who enjoy listening to the artist's picks of what she believes that you would enjoy (and perhaps recordings that please her). While I own most, if not all these performances, this disk is a valued addition to my collection. I enjoyed listening to it as I wrote this review and plan to enjoy listening to it again as I drive to Jacksonville tomorrow.

If you enjoy music well played rather than a full performance of a piece (where some movements may not be 'up to snuff), then this CD is for you. It is a question of whether you want to hear great compositions in the whole as their composers wrote them or listening the parts that make them truly great performed by an artist with incredible skills. Neither choice is wrong.