[Toccata]

Originally Posted by bart

Anne-Sophie Mutter - Hommage à Penderecki




What a great album.
I am a fan of Penderecki since the moment I discovered him.
And this shows his qualities in various pieces, for violin solo, violin and double bass, violin and piano, and violin and orchestra (directed by the composer!).
One of the greatest living composers!

All these Penderecki works have been commissioned by Anne-Sophie Mutter and are duly dedicated to her (as well as to double bass player Roman Patkoló in the case of the 2010 Duo concertante for violin and double bass), this is thus doing them justice to gather them under the same helm. We go crescendo, from La Follia for solo violin from 2013, a series of variations, up to the Violin Sonata No. 2, « Metamorphosen » from 1995—conducted here by the composer himself—to the already mentioned Duo concertante and the Sonata for violin and piano from 1999. As so many composers from his era—let’s remember he was born in 1933—Penderecki has taken the “backward path”, starting as a composer in the path underlined by serialism, before straying away from it to come back to a much more melodic language, almost tonal and even sometimes Post-Romantic. For such a talented violinist as Anne-Sophie Mutter, fed with beauty and virtuosity, these works represent both an endless renewal and a constant challenge, while allowing her to develop her sonority and her passionate lyricism. Let’s note that these Metamorphosen have been recorded in 1997, and the partition’s ink had barely had time to dry. Incidentally, the other recordings have all been close to the writing date, underlining the emotional and artistic closeness of the two characters. © SM/Qobuz

Most (all but one?) pieces are re-releases...are they also remastered?