Soloist: Mutter, Anne-Sophie

Orchestra: Camerata Salzburg

Conductor: Mutter, Anne-Sophie

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Composer: Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219, "Turkish"

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Date of Concert: 2005

Playing Time: 00:30:46

Television Director: Sommer, Andy

Producer: Fleischer, Bernhard

Catalogue Number: A05511895

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Anne-Sophie Mutter chose to begin her homage to Mozart's 250th birthday with the violin concertos. The choice is certainly fitting, as the concertos have been a major pillar of her repertoire ever since her earliest days: she played the Second Concerto at her public debut when she was nine, and she performed the G major Concerto K. 216 at her spectacular Salzburg debut under Herbert von Karajan when she was 13. She vigorously affirms that Mozart has since been present in her life on a daily basis.

Although she has already recorded Mozart's violin concertos in the past, Ms. Mutter is aware that her more recent interpretations bring a different perspective and greater maturity to her view of Mozart – while not diminishing the value of her earlier recordings. For this recording, which was filmed in Salzburg in December 2005, Ms. Mutter decided to conduct the ensemble herself. And with the Camerata Salzburg, she had at her disposal a supple and sensitive partner.

Mozart was not only a gifted pianist but also an accomplished string player who enjoyed playing both the violin and the viola. His first violin concerto, K. 207 in B flat major, was written in 1773 and is possibly Mozart's very first concerto for solo instrument and orchestra. The other four works – K. 211, 216, 218 and 219 – were all composed within a few months from June to December 1775, while Mozart was in the employ of the Archbishop of Salzburg.

The concertos underscore Mozart's genius in character portrayal while reconciling virtuosity with the needs of dramatic expression. They unfold prodigious melodic invention, fluid rhythms and a voluptuous orchestral fabric. Among Ms. Mutter's favorite moments in these concertos are the Adagio of K. 216, with its muted strings that give it a magical atmosphere; the concerto K. 218, which reminds her of a symphonic drama; and K. 219, which she calls the "crowning achievement" and is generally considered as the ripest of the five in emotional content and the most fascinating in form.