Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto, Piano Trio Op. 49, Violin Sonata [CD+DVD]

1	Violin Concerto in E mino
2	Violin Concerto in E mino
3	Violin Concerto in E mino
4	Piano Trio No. 1 in D min
5	Piano Trio No. 1 in D min
6	Piano Trio No. 1 in D min
7	Piano Trio No. 1 in D min
8	Sonata for violin & piano
9	Sonata for violin & piano
10	Sonata for violin & piano
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto, Piano Trio Op. 49, Violin Sonata [CD+DVD]
1.	Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 25:49
	Composed by Felix Mendelssohn
	Performed by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Anne-Sophie Mutter
	Conducted by Kurt Masur
2.	Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 27:47
	Composed by Felix Mendelssohn
	Performed by André Previn, Lynn Harrell and Anne-Sophie Mutter
3.	Sonata for violin & piano in F major 24:00
	Composed by Felix Mendelssohn
	Performed by André Previn and Anne-Sophie Mutter

All Music Guide

Anne-Sophie Mutter has always been a superlative violinist with an imposing sound and technique that command attention. As she has progressed her career she has shown a growing reluctance to restrain her interpretations, and this 2008 Mendelssohn recording is evidence that as she progresses in her now-mature career she is becoming more and more assertive in that direction. Here she has wisely programmed not just the German Romantic's evergreen "Violin Concerto," but also his less well-known "Piano Trio in D minor" and his nearly ignored "Violin Sonata in F major," thereby attractively broadening the range of repertoire. And Mutter has astutely joined with Kurt Masur and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in the concerto, with cellist Lynn Harrell and pianist André Previn in the trio, and with Previn in the sonata.

But, naturally, it is Mutter's playing that is most significant here, and it is on this point that her diehard and more fickle fans will part company. Mutter's flexible tempo rubato, willful phrasing, and free use of glissando, portimento, and vibrato fall outside the interpretive mainstream for early Romantic music, so purists may chafe. These same qualities suffused Mutter's recent recordings of Mozart and Bach, and they were just as characteristic of the musician and uncharacteristic of the music there as they are here. Listeners unfamiliar with Mutter who find brilliantly virtuosic and highly individualistic violin playing appealing will likely enjoy this disc. Listeners who prefer a more direct representation of the musical substance with less personal charisma may not. It should be added that Deutsche Grammophon's digital sound, while wonderfully clear and vivid, is focused more on the violinist than on her accompanists. James Leonard

New York Times

Ms. Mutter leaves little doubt of her current enthusiasm for Mendelssohn in an excellent new recording.... The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra...plays with a transparency that highlights the composer’s classicism. Ms. Mutter performs with a fervent warmth that results in a particularly vital and glowing rendition of the second movement. Vivien Schweitzer

The Times (U.K.)

You can feel the adrenalin pumping [in the concerto].... We always know who the star is, and it’s the German superstar, pirouetting nicely with a burnished tone, nervous rhythms, a furious finale and a vibrating, skylark andante. Geoff Brown