“The queen of violin” Anne-Sophie Mutter will be in Korea on June 14 with a troupe of her protgs to show off the essence of violin virtuosity.

From the very classic of classical music to contemporary, the German native is expected to demonstrate once again her “strictly classical but original and careful” bowing.

At the June 14 concert at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, Mutter and her 14 protgs selected from the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation will perform Sebastian Currier’s “Ring tones,” Mendelssohn’s Octet in E Flat Major, Op. 20 and Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons, Op. 8.” It will be the Korean premiere for the American contemporary classical composer Currier’s “Ring tones.” 

At 13, Mutter was handpicked by the legendary maestro Herbert von Karajan to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic. She was introduced to the international music scene in 1976 at the Lucerne Festival and ascended to success.

Mutter has released over 60 albums under the Deutsche Grammophon label, winning Grammys and many other awards. She also received order of merits in her home country as well as the Mendelssohn Prize, Brahms Prize, and the French Legion of Honor, as well as many others for her dedication to music.

Through the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, the violinist has been nurturing the next generation of musicians, including three Koreans ― Choi Ye-eun, Lee Hwa-yoon and Kim Doo-min ― who will join Mutter in the June 14 performance. The three musicians, already noted in their native Korea, are now making their way into the international scene.

“What is great about Mutter is that she can play all ranges of classical music. She has performed Vivaldi, Mozart and Mendelssohn to modern composers like Alban Berg and Sebastian Currier. Some of the most accomplished and acclaimed composers today dedicate their works to her and she performs them impeccably. I don’t find any weakness in her performance,” said Jake T. Ryu, a music critic.

“At the June concert, ‘The Four Seasons’ will be the highlight because it requires the musicians to express the four different seasons in a skillful manner ― it has tense, warm, hot and windy atmospheres mixed together in one piece. When she played the repertoire with the Trondheim Soloists in 2008 in Korea, the Korean audience went crazy and applauded after every movement, which made Mutter ask them to calm down,” he recalled.

“What can you say: If you have Maria Sharapova in tennis, there’s Anne-Sophie Mutter for violin. She has it all ― the perfect technique, the in-depth interpretation, the power and, of course, her looks,” Ryu said.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)