20th June 2023
Main Auditorium, Berlin Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
VIVALDI Concerto for 3 Violins, Strings and Continuo, RV 551
BACH Violin Concerto No. 1
PREVIN Nonet
BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
BOLOGNE Violin Concerto No. 2
Mutter's Virtuosi
Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin and direction)
When in Berlin, I took meine Mutter to see Frau Mutter on her own turf. Really, seeing Anne-Sophie Mutter is never about hearing the composers, but how she overdoes everything in her own way, which is sometimes revelatory but mostly yields polarising results. I think she is done with the traditional Romantic concerto format now (and so have we), so she has been touring with her own hand-picked camerata Mutter's Virtuosi to perform Baroque and Classical works. Vivaldi three-violin RV551, Bach's A minor, Brandenburg 3... all a bit of an overkill for me personally, now that I am used to cleaner and leaner HIP sounds. Thrilling as virtuosic performances go, her ornaments and rubatos can quickly get on your nerves. The Previn "Nonet" felt a bit flat musically but it wasn't long. The real gem tonight was Chevalier de Saint-Georges' "Violin Concerto No. 2". Dubbed "the black Mozart", here's a composer who gets "rediscovered" in recent years. Mutter made a potent case for this concerto, showcasing all the daring melodic writings and curious harmonic shifts (going minor before the soloist even enters? Is this ever a thing in the Classical period?) Hopefully she will record it soon. Four encores, two Vivaldi (guess which two) and two John Williams. I just spent the afternoon at the Jewish Museum and finishing the night with "Schindler's List" was perfect. With a programme like this, it is impossible for the audience to dislike. The Philharmonie has amazing acoustics, even at the back of the balcony. London really needs a new hall. Also, the German audience seems much older than London. The London crowd is more exciting in that regard. Limited sampling, granted.
