San Francisco Classical Voice

An old chestnut in the annals of music reviewing goes like this: Two veteran grey-haired Middle European concertgoers attended a violinist's recital in which the violinist did everything but turn cartwheels on stage. Every note was perfect, the tone extraordinary, musicianship magnificent. But one of these veterans, not quite satisfied, turned to the other and said, "Ja, but can she play Mozart?"

In the case of Anne-Sophie Mutter, she can, as evidenced by her performances of the Mozart Violin Concerti with Herbert Von Karajan recorded when she was all of 15 years old. This past Saturday, in a filled Davies Hall, San Francisco Performances presented Miss Mutter, now age 36, in a program of music written between the years 1932 and 1980 in what was then the Soviet Union. It was an extraordinary recital.

Conservative-modern in style, the music was given such interpretive wisdom that every composition emerged as a major event. I predict that after this performance, Arvo Pärt's Fratres, the least-known piece on the program, will enter the repertoire immediately. It was played with enormous love and conviction. The opening arpeggiated measures on the violin instantly created a mood of ancient times and, coupled with the sparse piano writing, looked back to Gregorian chant and created what might be called a "neo-Medieval" character.

For the centerpiece of the program, the E Minor Trio by Shostakovich, Mutter and Lambert Orkis were joined by an extraordinary 24-year-old cellist, Daniel Mueller-Schott. Matching Mutter and Orkis note for note would be daunting for anyone, but Mueller-Schott was in every way an equal partner. The piece was given an incandescent performance astonishing in its intensity. The trio played as one in intonation, dynamics, and purpose. Nothing more could be desired.

After intermission, Mutter and Orkis played Stravinsky's Suite Italienne, drawn from the Pulcinella Suite, in an arrangement by Samuel Dushkin. Here Orkis almost stole the show with his witty bravura playing, bringing out the special character of the dance movements that make up the suite. Her incredible bowing agility, especially in the Tarantella and singing with such beauty in the Serenata, was not to be outdone.

The program concluded with Prokofiev's well-known Sonata in D Major, op. 94bis, originally written as a flute sonata but, at the request of David Oistrakh, transcribed by Prokofiev for violin and piano This is the form in which it is mostly heard today. Mutter brought all forces to bear--technical mastery, a great tonal palette, and interpretive eloquence. Her encores were Ravel's Habañera and an arrangement of Aaron Copland's Hoedown. A wonderful recital by a violinist who makes all her musical points without need for facial contortions or distracting body movements and who is perhaps without peer among violinists performing today.

(Stuart Canin is the former Concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony and of Hollywood film orchestras, and former Music Director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra)

©2000 Stuart Canin, all rights reserved