Deutsche Grammophon's Simply Anne-Sophie is touted as "a unique collection of Anne-Sophie Mutter's incomparable Deutsche Grammophon recordings," it is simply one of several - Mutter Modern, Romance, and The Great Violin Concertos are among others Deutsche Grammophon has compiled from its extensive Mutter holdings from over the years. Simply Anne-Sophie has a greater chronological range than its predecessors as its earliest entries date from 1992 recordings made for the hit disc Carmen-Fantaisie and stretches through to some selections from Mutter Mozart: Violin Concertos, recorded at Abbey Road in 2005. Some may wonder how long Deutsche Grammophon is going to be able to keep these reissues of Mutter coming, but now it seems like the label is merely getting an early start, as Mutter has announced that the touring season in 2007-2008 will be her last.
Simply Anne-Sophie looks like a project that has been on the back burner for a while; a paragraph of the notes and a couple of photographs are devoted to Mutter's musical and marital relationship to conductor and composer André Previn. The marital part of this union was quietly concluded in a divorce court in September 2006. Mutter looks, as usual, like a million dollars on the front cover and sounds like another million on the inside. But the title is stupid - there is nothing "simple" about Anne-Sophie Mutter, who has stated on her website that she plays more benefit concerts than paying gigs because she "has committed herself to alleviating the medical and social problems of our times." Elsewhere she has said that she wishes that she "could wave a magic wand and have nuclear weapons and powerplants that threaten our planet disappear." Mutter's bow IS a magic wand that can melt the hearts of an audience and change one's feeling about what it is to experience music. Whether she is able to achieve even part of her lofty vision for the world as a place for everyone to live is something we will probably not know until she's gone, but the sentiments, and her hard work to fulfill them, are admirable. It's a shame that Deutsche Grammophon couldn't reflect more of these interests in compiling Simply Anne-Sophie; they had to rely on the glamour babe with a serious side angle that they've always pursued. Admittedly, Simply Anne-Sophie would be a nice one for a total neophyte to Mutter's work to find a way into her world, and if it brings one kid around to liking his/her violin a bit more, then it will have done more than its job.

Track List:

1. Vivaldi: Concerto For Violin And Strings In E, Op.8, No.1, RV 269 "La Primavera" - 1. Allegro (Live)
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and Trondheim Soloists
2. Mozart: Violin Concerto No.3 In G, K.216 - 3. Rondo (Allegro)
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and London Philharmonic Orchestra
3. Mozart: Violin Concerto No.5 In A, K.219 - 2. Adagio
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and London Philharmonic Orchestra
4. Beethoven: Violin Romance No.2 In F Major, Op.50 (Live)
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and Kurt Masur and New York Philharmonic Orchestra
5. Massenet: Thaïs / Acte Deux - Meditation
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and James Levine and Wiener Philharmoniker
6. Kreisler: Liebesleid
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis
7. Previn: Tango Song and Dance (dedicated to Anne-Sophie Mutter) - 2. Song. Simply
by André Previn and Anne-Sophie Mutter
8. Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.6 in D flat - transcr. in B flat major for violin and piano by Joseph Joachim
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis
9. Gershwin: Porgy and Bess - Summertime
by André Previn and Anne-Sophie Mutter
10. Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op.25 - Introduction. Allegro Moderato
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and James Levine and Wiener Philharmoniker
11. Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op.25 - 1. Moderato
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and James Levine and Wiener Philharmoniker
12. Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op.25 - 2. Lento assai
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and James Levine and Wiener Philharmoniker
13. Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op.25 - 3. Allegro moderato
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and James Levine and Wiener Philharmoniker
14. Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op.25 - 4. Moderato
by Anne-Sophie Mutter and James Levine and Wiener Philharmoniker