So far she has given world premieres of 31 works – Thomas Adès, Unsuk Chin, Sebastian Currier, Henri Dutilleux, Sofia Gubaidulina, Witold Lutoslawski, Norbert Moret, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sir André Previn, Wolfgang Rihm, Jörg Widmann and John Williams have all composed for Anne-Sophie Mutter. She dedicates herself to supporting tomorrow’s musical elite and numerous benefit projects. Furthermore, the board of trustees of the German cancer charity “Deutsche Krebshilfe” elected her the new president of the non-profit organization in 2021. Since January 2022, she joins the foundation board of the Lucerne Festival. In the autumn of 1997 she founded the “Association of Friends of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation e.V.”, to which the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation was added in 2008. These two charitable institutions provide support for the scholarship recipients, support which is tailored to the fellows’ individual needs. Since 2011, Anne-Sophie Mutter has regularly shared the spotlight on stage with her ensemble of fellows, “Mutter’s Virtuosi”.
Concerts in 2023
In the year she turns 60, Anne-Sophie Mutter’s concerts reflect the violinist’s musical versatility and her peerless rank in the world of classical music. Numerous compositions dedicated to her fill her 2023 concert calendar; in many countries, these works will be programmed for the first time. At the turn of the new year, Anne-Sophie Mutter and “Mutter’s Virtuosi” have toured Iceland, the USA and Canada. The programmes included the Concerto in A-major Op. 5 No. 2 by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint Georges, Unsuk Chin’s Gran Cadenza (commissioned by Mutter), Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins in B-minor Op. 3 No. 10 and his Four Seasons.
Two further tours in June and August/September take Anne-Sophie Mutter and her “Virtuosi” through Europe. The repertoire includes three works by J. S. Bach: his Violin Concerto No. 1 in A-minor, the Double Concerto for Two Violins and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G-major. These are complemented by the Nonet by André Previn, a work dedicated to the violinist, as well as the Concerto for 3 Violins in F major, RV 551 by Antonio Vivaldi and the Concerto in A-major Op. 5 No. 2 by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint Georges. Fourteen string players and Knut Johannessen at the harpsichord will perform these three tours under the leadership of Anne-Sophie Mutter.
In the USA, she performs Thomas Adès’ Air – Homage to Sibelius, a work she co-commissioned and premiered at the Lucerne Festival in 2022 together with the composer. Her musical partners are the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Andris Nelsons.
A European chamber music tour is also planned: Johannes Brahms’ Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in D-minor Op. 108, Clara Schumann’s Three Romances Op. 22 for Violin and Piano, Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ghost Trio” and Sebastian Currier’s Ghost Trio (dedicated to the violinist) will be performed by Mutter with Lambert Orkis and the cellist Maximilian Hornung. Ghost Trio will be performed in Europe for the first time on these occasions.
Another musical focus in 2023 is the oeuvre of John Williams: Mutter will perform his Violin Concerto No. 2, dedicated to her, as well as a selection of the virtuoso film music adaptations Williams created especially for her in Australia, Europe, New Zealand and the USA – the American performances will be conducted by the composer himself.
Anne-Sophie Mutter concludes the year 2023 performing Krzysztof Penderecki’s Violin Concerto No. 2 “Metamorphosen” in honour of the 90th birthday of the composer, who passed away in 2020. She will play this work, which is also dedicated to her, in Poland and Israel together with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra under Andrey Boreyko.
Awards
In June 2023, Anne-Sophie Mutter received the Ruhr Piano Festival Prize, and the Royal Philharmonic Society awarded her its Gold Medal. The Krzysztof Penderecki Music Academy in Cracow bestowed an honorary doctorate on her in 2022. In 2019, Anne-Sophie Mutter was honoured to receive the Praemium Imperiale in the music category; she received the 2019 Polar Music Prize. Poland awarded the Gloria Artis Gold Medal for Cultural Achievements to Anne-Sophie Mutter in 2018, making her the first German artist to receive such an honour. In 2018 the violinist was named an honorary member of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. In 2017 Romania awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of a Grand Officer to Anne-Sophie Mutter and France honoured her by presenting her with the insignia of a Commander of the French Order of the Arts and Literature. In 2016 the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports awarded her the “Medalla de oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes” (Gold Medal for Merits in the Fine Arts). In 2015, Anne-Sophie Mutter was named an Honorary Fellow of Keble College at the University of Oxford. In 2013 she became a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, after winning the medal of the Lutosławski Society (Warsaw) in January. In 2012 the Atlantic Council bestowed the Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award upon her. In 2011 she received the Brahms Prize as well as the Erich Fromm Prize and the Gustav Adolf Prize for her social activism. In 2010 the Technical-Scientific University of Norway in Trondheim bestowed an honorary doctorate upon her; in 2009 she won the European St. Ulrich Award as well as the Cristobal Gabarron Award. In 2008 Anne-Sophie Mutter was the recipient of the International Ernst von Siemens Music Prize as well as the Leipzig Mendelssohn Prize.The violinist has been awarded the German Grand Order of Merit, the French Medal of the Legion of Honour, the Bavarian Order of Merit, the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, and numerous other honors.
Last updated on June 6, 2023