Anne-Sophie Mutter: East Meets West album review – diverse, bold and brand new

2026-03-26 - 15:30

Mutter/Zhou/LSO/Adès (Alpha) A varied and engaging collection of four works written for the star violinist features music by Jörg Widmann, Unsuk Chin, Thomas Adès and Aftab Darvish Anne-Sophie Mutter’s enduring commitment to contemporary music is showcased in her bold new series on Alpha Classics. All four works were specifically written for her, with the composers’ diverse heritages lending the album its title. The programme opens with a six-minute solo by Iranian-Dutch composer Aftab Darvishi. Likoo – the title refers to a folk poetry genre rooted in the desert life of Iran – is a sinuous lament, written before the recent outbreak of war but now unbearably poignant. It’s followed by a nine-minute rollercoaster duo, Gran Cadenza, by Unsuk Chin, a South Korean composer living in Berlin. Mutter is partnered by the excellent Chinese-American violinist Nancy Zhou in a prickly, high-wire duel to the death. Continue reading...