Anne-Sophie Mutter is the most famous violinist in the world and has been celebrated internationally for 48 years. Three years ago she took over the presidency of the German Cancer Aid. Together with pianist Lambert Orkis, Anne-Sophie Mutter will now perform on October 1st at the Berlin Philharmonie in aid of the Cancer Aid.
Ms. Mutter, you have been giving regular benefit concerts for decades. What criteria do you use to select the projects you support?
There is no set rule. Even as a child, it was important to me to be socially involved. This has to do with my baptism priest, Paul Gräb, who built homes for the elderly and people with special needs in the 1960s, financed by the proceeds from works of art donated to him by artist friends. That touched me deeply. This perspective from everyday life on people who are far too little seen in society was a real sensation in the 1960s.
On October 1st, you will be performing in aid of the cancer charity in Berlin. Since 2021, you have also been president of this organization, which is now celebrating its 50th anniversary.
This is a result of my CV because I lost my husband to lung cancer in 1995 while I was a non-smoker. So the motivation is naturally particularly great and so is the authenticity to be able to fill this position with all the compassion. Cancer is a disease that has been raging for 4000 years. And the fight against cancer is a perpetual motion machine: we must continue to research, continue to search, continue to help.
© German Cancer Aid
Because this insidious disease affects many people.
Yes, statistically every second of us will be affected at some point in our lives, with 500,000 new cases every year. As a cancer charity, we support young scientists and we are involved in cancer prevention. 40 percent of the diseases could be prevented by a different lifestyle. That doesn’t mean that it’s my fault if I get cancer. Genetics and the environment play a big role – and luck too. But we have to be aware that what we do, how we live, what and how we consume has an influence on what happens to our body and our psyche.
Another important topic is patient-doctor communication. How can this be improved?
It’s the tone that makes the music. That’s why it’s so important to train a young generation of doctors in how to explain a diagnosis to the patient. I remember my husband’s diagnosis with horror: the surgeon who operated on him pronounced a death sentence. That was the first time I painfully realized how helpless some doctors are in this situation.
Nothing is as important as sharing experiences with others.”
Anne-Sophie Mutter
Do you believe in the healing power of music?
Yes, but I’m not naive. Everything has to be clearly documented in scientific studies. We are in the process of coordinating data, but also compiling new data that will show us what kind of influence music can have on patients during post-operative oncology treatment. What effect does it have on the psyche, on the perception of pain, on resilience, or on the general mood of life? Can music lead to more confidence? For example, there are fantastic results from a study in Switzerland with premature babies. Two groups of premature babies were compared. The group that was sung to every day showed a significant developmental spurt, including cerebral ones.
A surprising number of doctors are active as musicians in their free time.
Yes, and that is why they have a great interest in examining this field in more detail as a possible means of improvement in the interest of the patient.
Another factor is live concerts. When you gather with others to listen to music, you experience how wonderful it is when a community of like-minded people forms.
Research into aging, for example, can prove that social contacts are more important than the medical drugs we take. Nothing is as important as sharing experiences with others. And in the best case, this can include experiencing music together. I still remember the first concert I ever heard. I was six years old and the great Russian violinist David Oistrakh came to Basel to play the three Brahms sonatas.
We need more musicians who are also willing to take on social tasks.”
Anne-Sophie Mutter
How did you put together the program for your Berlin benefit evening?
The pianist Lambert Orkis and I play historically chronological works by Mozart, Schubert, Clara Schumann and Ottorino Respighi to show what exciting developments there have been in the relationship between violin and piano over the centuries.
Even classical music fans often only know that Clara Schumann was the wife of Robert Schumann and that her portrait once adorned the 100-mark note.
She is one of those artists who has been overlooked by music history. I recorded her trio not long ago, which is an absolute masterpiece. And I am happy that we will be playing three of her romances in Berlin, which shed light on what a great pianist she was. Incidentally, we also have her to thank for the fact that almost everything in concerts today is played from memory. In my opinion, this brings you closer to the compositions, both intellectually and physically.
© Julia Wesley/DG
Another rarity is the sonata by Ottorino Respighi…
A wonderful work! We know this Italian composer’s large-scale orchestral pieces like “Pini di Roma”. But even though he only writes for two instruments, the sound is powerful, almost like a concerto for violin and piano. I got to know the sonata very early on; it was a find from my teacher Aida Stucki. Her husband, who was concertmaster under Toscanini, knew a repertoire that hadn’t really been played for 40 years. I was able to draw on a lot of that.
Any more words about Mozart and Schubert?
An early sonata by Mozart is always something wonderful because the man managed to say everything that could be said with relatively few notes. Especially at a time when the violin was not yet quite as emancipated as the piano. And has there ever been a more beautiful composition for violin and piano than Schubert’s fantasy, based on the love song “Sei mir gegrüßt”? I know of nothing comparable in chamber music.
Your 50th stage anniversary falls in the 2026/27 season. Do you already have concrete plans?
I have commissioned a work from the American composer Sebastian Currier that will also have a visual component. I am very keen to combine modern music with other contemporary art forms. Because we live in a very visual age, it seems to me that the visual can support music, not just accompany it. But I am breaking completely new ground with this.
And what are your plans together with the scholarship holders of your foundation, i.e. with Mutter’s Virtuosi?
I will go on a tour with them to South America if we can find sponsors for the flights. It is important that we go to South America and also to the Far East. We have many current and former scholarship holders who come from the Far East, and when they return to their home countries as established artists or teachers, they can build a bridge between peoples. We need even more supporters who, as musicians, are also prepared to take on social tasks. It is actually a diplomatic mission.
The questions were asked by Frederik Hanssen.
