From Berlin Times by Rebecca Schmid
The Berlin Philharmonic is
celebrating the centenary of Lutosławski with several concerts this
month. The first of the series on February 7-featuring his Concert for
Orchestra-opened appropriately with Anne-Sophie Mutter, who premiered
one of his most important works, Chain Two, in 1988. In an interview I
conducted two years ago, the violinist recalled how seeing the score
triggered a passion for contemporary music which she continues to
nurture. Her appearance at the Philharmonie alongside guest conductor
Manfred Honeck took an unrelated historic twist with a performance of
Dvořák's Romance in F-minor, although the Czech composer's innovative
integration of folk music can be seen to have foreshadowed composers
such as Bartok and Lutosławski. The last violinist to perform this work
with the Philharmonic is Carl Flesch, in 1909. As Mutter also explained
to me, she considers herself a kind of 'great-grandchild' of the
legendary violinist given that Flesch taught her mentor Aida Stücki.
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