Overwhelming, lengthy applause and standing ovations greeted Anne-Sophie Mutter’s anniversary concert today at the Großes Festspielhaus. During the ovations, Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler and Cecilia Bartoli, Artistic Director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, entered the stage. They thanked the exceptional violinist for her 40 years of stage presence and the exceptional concert experiences she has given the Salzburg audience over the years.
Anne-Sophie Mutter at her anniversary concert, Photos: Salzburg Festival/Marco Borrelli
“On 29 May 1977, this stage witnessed a Pentecostal miracle in music. Herbert von Karajan, to whom Salzburg owes so much, including this very theatre, invited the prodigy violinist to perform even before her 14th birthday. She came, played and conquered audience and reviewers. And thus it has remained ever since,” said Helga Rabl-Stadler.
Herbert von Karajan and Anne-Sophie Mutter
The Festival President thanked Mutter for this morning, which was not merely an “event”, but a musical highlight that was going to live on in the consciousness of all those present. She called Anne-Sophie Mutter a discoverer, enabling new interpretations of supposedly familiar pieces.
Anne-Sophie Mutter also briefly addressed the audience, commemorating Herbert von Karajan, with whom she worked for 13 years until his death, recalling how he would often ask her to join him shortly before a concert, to keep polishing details of their interpretations.
Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler, Cecilia Bartoli, Artistic Director of the Whitsun Festival, and Anne-Sophie Mutter, whose 40-year stage anniversary was celebrated, on the rehearsal stage. Photo: SF/Marco Borrelli
Cecilia Bartoli, whose birthday is today, was celebrated by the musicians and audience with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” before the audience again broke into rapturous applause.
After Anne-Sophie Mutter’s anniversary concert, Cecilia Bartoli hosted a Charity Lunch at the Karl-Böhm-Saal. The award-winning chef Johanna Maier and her sons treated the guests to an early-summer menu created especially for the Festival. Net proceeds will be donated to the Salzburg Festival’s education programmes and the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. (From Press Release)
40 years Anne-Sophie Mutter at the Salzburg Festival
Programme:
Franz Schubert: Piano Trio in E flat, D. 897 – “Notturno”
Franz Schubert: Quintet for Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello and Double bass in A, D. 667 – “Trout” Quintet
Antonio Vivaldi: Le quattro stagioni, Op. 8 No. 1-4
Marijan Zlobec