Anne-Sophie Mutter - Carmen Fantasie

Mastered from the original analog tapes; cut by Maarten de Boer

Cutting at Emil Berliner Studios specializing in vinyl mastering

180-gram vinyl pressed by Pallas in Germany

Anne-Sophie Mutter is joined by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by James Levine performing Sarasate's Carmen-Fantasie!

Some violinists impress by a dazzling technique, as flawless and polished as a diamond. Some impress by the intensity of their vision, their genius for saying something fresh with a musical phrase that the listener may have heard a thousand times before. Others by their daring, their willingness to push themselves beyond the boundries of safety — perhaps by choosing an audacious tempo, or by producing some extraordinary and startling tone-color. Anne-Sophie Mutter does all this and more!

Gathered together here is music that Mutter might play as encores after an intense recital or concerto program. Several were written by composers who were themselves virtuoso violinists, and whose very intention was to test the technical mettle of all who dared to attempt a performance. For some violinists, simply playing the notes would be enough. But being Mutter, these pieces are interpreted with as much care and intelligence as the most profound concerto.

Discovered as a child prodigy by Herbert von Karajan, Mutter has been holding the world's music-lovers mesmerized for at least 17 years.

Recorded: Vienna, Musikverein, Grosser Saal, November 1992.