Anne-Sophie Mutter Mozart Violin Sonatas & Concertos (DG) [Review]

A four-disc set of Mozart violin sonatas, planned to coincide with the Mozart Year of 2006, featuring the violin of Anne-Sophie Mutter with piano accompaniment by Lambert Orkis. Inside the digipak there are attractive glamour photographs, very much in keeping with Mutter’s image as someone who trades on her looks — quite lavish altogether. The piano trio CD remains unheard for the time being.

My copy is an import, as usual — and, well. It’s a difficult one to rate. Neither liked nor disliked, neither good nor bad. Objectively speaking, I think it’s a performance that exceeds a certain standard and should suit most listeners reasonably well. There’s an oddly homely, relaxed feel to it, and the piano touch comes through clearly, which is rather nice. That said, how to put this — with Mozart, a truly good performance can clear my head in just ten seconds or so, but with this disc I don’t quite get that sense of freshness; it’s strange how my brain seems to drift into a Beethoven-listening state. It’s charming enough, but there’s a slight, deliberate awkwardness between the violin and the accompaniment in terms of tempo, and the musical flow doesn’t feel entirely natural.

Listened through the main system with the Vienna Acoustics T-2, the treble is somewhat restrained and there’s a slight analogue-ish quality to the tone. Not at all harsh on the ears, but whether it qualifies as a high-quality recording — well, it’s decent enough, I suppose. The tonal balance as heard is not bad, but the soundstage feels a little miniature. If I’m being greedy, I’d want more bloom and freshness from the violin. Personally, I’d prefer a recording with a touch more transparency and a greater sense of ambient space. On the Audio Pro Image11, the tweeter lends a welcome sense of freshness, and listening on that system gains a certain lightness of touch — four stars for that.

Going back to the concerto set (described below) after listening to the sonatas, the concertos are simply far more appealing. Mutter’s direction of the orchestra is lively and vivacious, and the recording, compared to the sonata set, is cleaner, more open, and well-balanced. The London Philharmonic helps the musical flow run far more smoothly, and the rather heavy-handed, artificial quality that Mutter can have on her own is pleasingly neutralised, allowing the sprightly touch and brightness to come through in the best possible way. Still, I do wonder why Amazon reviews are full of praise for the concerto set while there’s barely a word about the sonatas — curious.

↓DVD editions of each are apparently due out between January and March 2007.

Anne-Sophie Mutter: Mozart Complete Violin Concertos

This is the complete Mozart violin concertos with Anne-Sophie Mutter conducting from the violin. Two discs. The recording quality varies slightly but is generally good. A clear, bright, three-dimensional sound typical of recent Deutsche Grammophon — somewhat taut-feeling and lacking a little in naturalness, but that’s all part of the charm. The performances are a touch heavy-handed but not bad overall. Rather than smooth musical phrasing and flow, it is the vitality, physical energy, and three-dimensional structural clarity that make this set appealing.

The interpretations are occasionally individual, but broadly speaking within normal bounds, I suppose. The Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major K.364, in particular, performed with violist Yuri Bashmet, strikes me as an exceptionally fine achievement in both performance and recording. It would be well worth purchasing for this work alone. That said, personally I have a slight preference for the Augustin Dumay recording on the same DG label, with its rather more eccentric interpretation.