American Tunes #1

Description

For this second volume of the ASM Forte Forward collection, Anne-Sophie Mutter performs works by two composers who are dear to her. First, André Previn (1929-2019), with whom the violinist was married for a few years and remained friends until his death. A jazz pianist, conductor, and composer, the multiple talents of this great musician opened new musical worlds for her. Here, she presents his Piano Trio (2009), as well as his Violin Concerto No. 2, composed in 2010 for solo violin, string orchestra, and harpsichord. A nod to baroque music and an unusual instrument in today’s chamber music. Another unusual instrument is the double bass: Anne-Sophie Mutter asked Sebastian Currier to write a work for a duo between her and the double bassist Roman Patkoló, one of the scholars of her foundation. The composer chose to write Ringtone Variations: “I wanted to work with very simple material that everyone knows,” says Currier. “Perhaps this is the only piece for which it would even be good for a mobile phone to ring in the audience: it would suddenly create a new variation.”