It's no secret that one of my favorite violinists is
Anne-Sophie Mutter. I first got an LP of her Mozart Concerti when I was a teenager, and was learning the G major Concerto. She was a real inspiration and I still talk to my friend who gave me the disc, and say thanks (you rock Elin!)
Much later down the road I would have every cd, laserdisc(!), dvd, download, and in the 90s, I even had a fan site about her with pictures and information (as well as the internet's only site for the music of
Andzrej Panufnik at the time,
see part of it here from the
WayBack Machine, ah geocities!)
I've seen her several times perform live, from Beethoven to Berg, and it is always exciting.
I've also had tapes, cds and mp3s of interviews with her, from various radio stations and networks - one of my favorites is a discussion with Robert Siegel on NPR's
All Things Considered. So when I was offered a chance by Amanda Ameer at Universal to talk with Anne-Sophie I jumped at it! It was afternoon in Germany and early one Wednesday morning in San Antonio when we spoke.
Take a listen to our phone conversation:
mp3 file
The discussion is mostly around Sofia Gubaidulina, a composer who wrote
In Tempus Praesens for Anne-Sophie last year. Of course, we also talked about the Bach that is on the new cd, as well as other composers.
The cd is out on October 7th, in a deluxe set, and as a regular release, as well as a download at
DG Webshop. Get it in any version, you'll love it and be sure to see her on tour!
Here's a list to help you find that right download or cd for someone special this holiday season who digs violin:
