Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and Pianist Lambert Orkis to Tour the U.S., Spring 2017

Globally-renowned violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and her longtime musical partner pianist Lambert Orkis give 11 performances across the United States in Spring 2017. The duo have spent nearly 30 years making music together, resulting in numerous successful Deutsche Grammophon recordings, earning Grammy® Awards, an ECHO Award, as well as a Choc de l'Année Award. The recital program will be played in seven cities including San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall, New York's Carnegie Hall and Washington DC's Kennedy Center, with a program including works by Sebastian Currier - who previously wrote a number of other works for Mrs. Mutter such as Aftersong (1994) and Ringtone Variations (2013) - Mozart, Respighi, and Saint-Saëns. Mrs. Mutter concludes the tour with a four-date engagement with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andris Nelsons, where the concert program features selections by Tchaikovsky and Nostalghia by Toru Takemitsu, which Mrs. Mutter played at her 35th Anniversary concert of her Japanese debut.

For 40 years, Anne-Sophie Mutter has sustained a career of exceptional musicianship with an unwavering commitment to the future of classical music. Motivated by the desire to promote contemporary music, Mrs. Mutter constantly strives to collaborate with composers and premiere new works. Mrs. Mutter's dedication to the prosperity of living composers is reflected by her nearly 25 world premiere performances by globally renowned composers such as Sebastian Currier, Henri Dutilleux, Sofia Gubaidulina, Witold Lutoslawski, Norbert Moret, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sir André Previn and Wolfgang Rihm. On the occasion of the violinist's 35th stage anniversary, Deutsche Grammophon launched a comprehensive boxed set with all of the artist's DG recordings, including an extensive collection of rare and unpublished recordings and documentation. Simultaneously, an album dedicated to the violinist was released containing the world premiere recordings of works by Wolfgang Rihm (Lichtes Spiel and Dyade), Sebastian Currier (Time Machines) and Krzysztof Penderecki (Duo concertante): a further tribute to her devotion to contemporary music.

Committed to fostering the great musicians of tomorrow, Mrs. Mutter founded the Friends of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation (Freundeskreis der Anne-Sophie Mutter Stiftung e.V.) in 1997 with the objective of developing the talents of highly gifted classical string players. Students are assisted according to their needs and musical goals, with opportunities such as tuition scholarships, teacher pairing, procuring instruments, arranging master classes or auditions with established musicians and conductors, and making introductions to valuable contacts in the classical music field. Mrs. Mutter frequently performs and tours with the foundation's scholarship students, and in 2011 she created The Mutter Virtuosi - an ensemble of former and current students from the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, whom she introduces to audiences worldwide.

Mrs. Mutter's extensive humanitarian efforts, including dozens of benefit concerts, have resulted in numerous awards and recognition over the course of her distinguished career. She was recently honored as one of the recipients of the 2017 Crystal Award presented at the 47th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Upon receiving the humanitarian award, Mrs. Mutter remarked: "During this four-minute speech of mine, 24 children have died due to malnutrition or undernourishment. According to the United Nations' World Food Programme, almost 800 million people worldwide suffer from hunger, which means roughly every ninth person. Every year, 8 million people die of hunger - which means a death approximately every three seconds...If one could eat resolutions and words, nobody would starve. I appeal to you, ladies and gentlemen, because each one of you is able to make an active and significant contribution to improving the nutrition situation throughout the world."

NORTH AMERICAN RECITAL TOUR:

SEBASTIAN CURRIER Clockwork for violin and piano (1989)
MOZART Sonata for Piano and Violin in A Major, KV 526
RESPIGHI Violin Sonata in B Minor
SAINT-SAËNS Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, Po 28

March 26, 2017 - 7:00 PM - San Francisco, California, Davies Symphony Hall
March 29, 2017 - 8:00 PM - Chicago, Illinois, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
March 31, 2017 - 7:30 PM - Kansas City, Missouri, Harriman-Jewell Series
April 2, 2017 - 2:00 PM - New York, New York, Carnegie Hall
April 4, 2017 - 7:30 PM - Tallahassee, Florida, Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
April 6, 2017 - 8:00 PM - Naples, Florida, Artis-Naples
April 8, 2017 - 3:00 PM - Washington, D.C, Kennedy Center Concert Hall

BOSTON PERFORMANCES:

TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto, Op. 35
TAKEMITSU Nostalghia (In Memory of Andrei Tarkovskij) for violin and strings
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 6

April 27, 2017 - 8:00 PM - Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Symphony Orchestra
April 28, 2017 - 8:00 PM - Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Symphony Orchestra
April 29, 2017 - 8:00 PM - Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Symphony Orchestra
May 2, 2017 - 8:00 PM - Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Symphony Orchestra

About Anne-Sophie Mutter:

Anne-Sophie Mutter is a musical phenomenon who celebrates 40 years as a virtuoso fixture on the international stages of the world's major concert halls, making her mark on the classical music scene as a soloist, mentor and visionary. The 2016-17 season marks the 40-year anniversary of her debut as a 13 year old soloist at the Salzburg Whitsun Concerts under Herbert von Karajan's baton.

The four-time Grammy® Award winner is fully committed both to the performance of traditional composers and to the future of music: so far she has given world premieres of 24 works by composers including Sebastian Currier, Henri Dutilleux, Sofia Gubaidulina, Witold Lutoslawski, Norbert Moret, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sir André Previn and Wolfgang Rihm. She has been honored as a Perspectives Artist at Carnegie Hall, as well as New York Philharmonic's Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence.

Furthermore, she dedicates herself to numerous benefit projects and to supporting tomorrow's young musical stars: in the autumn of 1997 she founded the "Association of Friends of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation e.V.", to which the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation was added in 2008. These two charitable institutions provide support for the scholarship recipients, support which is tailored to the fellows' individual needs. Since 2011, Anne-Sophie Mutter has regularly shared the spotlight on stage with her ensemble of fellows, "Mutter Virtuosi".

The year 2017, featuring concerts in Europe in North America, reflects the violinist's musical versatility and illustrates her unparalleled rank in the world of classical music. At the Tanglewood Festival, she performs the world premiere of John Williams' work Markings for solo violin, strings and harp. She also appears at the Salzburg Whitsun and Summer Festivals, at the Lucerne Summer Festival and La Scala in Milan, as well as performing with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She will perform and record Schubert Trout Quintet with Daniil Trifonov and three of her you fellows as well Vivaldi The Four Seasons with the Mutter Virtuosi. Together with pianist Lambert Orkis, she gives recitals in Europe and in North America.

Anne-Sophie Mutter has been awarded the 2017 'Crystal Award' by the World Economic Forum for her services to music education and young artists. In addition she has been awared the German Grand Order of Merit, the French Medal of the Legion of Honour, the Bavarian Order of Merit, the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, and numerous other honours.

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