"Performing contemporary music had added immeasurably to the way I play
Tchaikovsky's Concerto," writes violinist
Anne-Sophie Mutter in the liner notes to her second recording of the work in 20 years. To be more precise, what performing contemporary music has added to
Mutter's performance of
Tchaikovsky's concerto is an abrasive tone, an aggressive technique, and an interpretation that treats
Tchaikovsky's tender little concerto as if it were a lover who liked it rough and raw. Although there is no denying
Mutter's virtuosity, her performance is at best willful and at worst wrongful.
"
Anne-Sophie makes the structure of
Korngold's piece clearer than anyone else," writes conductor
André Previn in the liner notes of his wife's performance of
Korngold's Violin Concerto. To be more precise, it is
Previn who makes the structure clearer, who, indeed, makes this the most persuasive performance of the piece ever recorded. An old hand at the music of
Korngold,
Previn's sensitive conducting shapes an ardent but cogent performance, a performance that lets
Korngold's lines sing and soar but always in context of a convincing structure.
Mutter, who thankfully has not added any hint of "contemporary music" to
Korngold's neo-Romantic piece, plays with all the subtlety, taste, and beauty of which she is capable. The result is one of the most completely compelling performances of the work ever recorded. Deutsche Grammophon's sound is transparent with a slight hint of reverberation.