The
box announces this as “The Grand Finale of Anne-Sophie Mutter’s
‘Mozart Trilogy’”, and indeed, keen collectors will already
be familiar with the exotic Jugenstil artwork on
the well received Concertos and Trios ‘Limited Edition’
sets. The presentation is indeed richly peppered with nice
photos of Anne-Sophie Mutter in a very posh frock. The whole
thing reminds me of the plush Deutsche Grammophon LP productions
of the 1970s – distinctive and desirable, guaranteed to
raise the tone of any serious music-lover’s shelves.
The
DG website allows that dangerous word ‘complete’ when applied
to this set, and the implication of ‘The Violin Sonatas’
should of course be tempered by Ms Mutter’s own admission
that “the early works have never interested me, as the violin
merely accompanies the right hand – as it does with Haydn.”
So, not complete, but certainly a thorough overview of Mozart’s
Mannheim period, and the two phases of his
life in Vienna
– the mature sonatas. “I’m not out to prove that I’ve recorded
all that Mozart ever wrote for the violin and piano. This
survey contains the works that are important to me personally
and that are central to Mozart’s output as a composer.”
These
recordings are described as live, but there is no applause
and very little ambient noise – certainly nothing which
in any way disturbs the flow of the music. There has also
been some editing – evidenced by a careless glitch at 3:46
into the Rondeau of K.378 among other places (1:39
into the Adagio of K.481 is a bit of a giveaway as
well). The Munich acoustic is pleasantly resonant without being overly swimmy, and the
all-important balance between the violin and the equally
important piano part is perfect. There are plenty of moments
where the violin has an accompanying role to the piano,
and Mutter has plenty of space to play sotto voce where
required. This is, thank goodness, a true chamber music
performance and recording, with no unnaturally star-struck
spotlighting.
Pick
any moment on any of the discs, and you will find yourself
being drawn into intriguing musical dialogue of almost infinite
fascination. We have become so used to the violin taking
the lead and the piano playing an accompanying role in sonatas,
that the opening of (say) the Andantino, second movement
Sonata in B flat major K.378 sounds almost modern,
with the violin adding single-note brushstrokes to an extended
melodic solo in the piano. Mutter is always restrained and
meticulously accurate with phrasing in this kind of sensitive
passagework, which can make or ruin such sensitive material.
Her virtuosity in faster movements is effortless and elegantly
flowing, allowing the music to breathe and develop in the
same deceptively easy atmosphere in which it appears to
have been written – or so Mozart would have us believe.
The
booklet notes have an admirable commentary by Tully Potter,
but are also partly taken up in the form of an interview
with Ms Mutter in which she pinpoints all of these vital
aspects of performing these most demanding of pieces: “With
Mozart not a single note is conjured from thin air…. None
of these pieces is easy. Mozart has a habit of suddenly
demanding that after a wonderfully beautiful elegiac melody
you have to perform a triple somersault from a standing
start.” It might have been interesting to have some comments
from the pianist as well, seeing as how both parts are equal:
some more equal than others, apparently. Those most searingly
beautiful of moments, like the slow movements of K.378,
K.481 or K.304 are given a lyrical purity of voice by both
Mutter and Lambert Orkis – both displaying richness and
depth of tone, without weighing the notes down with post-Mozartean
romanticism. Mutter is flexible in her tonal inflexions
as well, and in the forward-looking Sonata in E minor
K.304 we are given the full-bodied assertiveness demanded
by some of the motifs in the opening Molto Allegro.
The
competition in this field is not as hot as one might expect,
and this collection is therefore a valued addition to the
current catalogue. Listeners who desire an authentic fortepiano
period sound will already be collecting the excellent Channel
Classic set with Rachel Podger and Gary Cooper, and genuine
Mozart fans will probably already have Itzhak Perlman and
Daniel Barenboim in their highly desirable DG reissue set,
also on 4 CDs. The Naxos label is issuing a complete issue with
Takako Nishizaki and various pianists
(Jenö Jandó for one), which will of course have a
bargain advantage. I was going to say it’s more workmanlike
than inspired from what I’ve heard of it, but with Michael
Cookson praising the latest volume with the Nishizaki-Loeb
partnership I may have to revise my opinions. I still have
a sneaking affection for Igor Oistrakh and Natalia Zertsalova
but have never come across their Melodiya set on CD. Various
single CD recital discs will have their own jewels of this
repertoire on offer, but a more consistently wonderful ‘complete’
set than this new DG recording you won’t find for money
or love.
Dominy Clements
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Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin) 
