London Philharmonic Orchestra / Anne-Sophie Mutter / Karina Canellakis

Music as a Lifeline

»You can’t just call that talent – she’s simply a genius.« With these words, Herbert von Karajan once knighted Anne-Sophie Mutter and nearly 50 years later, time has proven him right: her name remains synonymous with world-class violin playing. »If you want to get to know me, you have to experience me on stage,« says Mutter. Music and life? For her, inseparable. Her credo: classical music belongs in everyday life, at the heart of society. In that, she would have seen eye to eye with Piotr Tchaikovsky. For him, music was a sanctuary, a vital force. His brilliant Violin Concerto was born in dark times – and became his salvation: »In such a state of mind, composing no longer feels like work; it is pure bliss!«