Anne-Sophie Mutter - Tchaikovsky, Korngold - Violin Concertos (2004)

"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.