Anne-Sophie Mutter: Beethoven: The Complete Violin Sonatas (DVD)

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Nowadays, companies in the business of releasing classical music albums rely on superstars who aren´t necessarily as talented as they are marketable to sell products. In the past, the Beethoven piano/violin sonatas were called that--piano/violin sonatas. Now, Deutsche Grammophon is calling them violin sonatas only--despite the fact that both instruments have fairly equal parts. Ms. Mutter´s face is used for a variety of packagings, while Mr. Orkis´s is nowhere to be found. Of course, since violinists hold their instruments so closely to their bodies (particularly their faces), they have an advantage over other musicians--dramatic intimacy. Pianists are literally at "arm´s length" from their craft, so it´s hard for audiences to focus on both a piano player´s face and hands.

Video:
Forward-thinking engineers in Europe (where high definition widescreen TVs have been embraced more readily than in the United States) have transferred concert footage to DVD with a 1.78:1 (anamorphic widescreen) ratio. Except for a few soft spots, the picture looks outstanding. There isn´t a sign of video noise, dust, hairs, scratches, dots, or compression problems. Everything is so clear that, in high-angle long-shots, you can clearly see Ms. Mutter´s silhouette against the rear curtain at the back of the stage.

Of course, there is little real variation to the video presentation. You see the same stage for each sonata, two tuxedos worn by Mr. Orkis, and two dresses worn by Ms. Mutter. Also, the footage has a "TV" feel rather than a "film" feel that you get with watching a theatrical feature, leading me to believe that the performances could´ve been shot on video.

Audio:
Encoded as a PCM stereo surround (uncompressed 2.0 surround) track, the audio sounds clear, crisp, and brilliant. Since these were live recordings in a concert hall, you can hear some miss if you walk up to your speakers and place your ears next to them. However, sitting where you would normally sit while watching your monitor, there seems to be no distortion at all. Understandably, the music mostly comes from the front channels, but a few echoes have been sent to the rear speakers to simulate a concert hall environment. The audience´s enthusiastic responses to the performances fill the room at the end of each sonata.

Note: Some of you, like me, may have to adjust your home theatre hardware settings to be able to decode the audio stream.

Extras:
The only real extra included on the disc is the "A Life With Beethoven" documentary. Running for about an hour, the documentary follows Ms. Mutter to museums, to concert halls, and even to the Beethoven-Haus as she talks about art, interpreting music, her beginnings as a pianist at age 5, and the conflict that she sees in Beethoven´s original manuscripts for the sonatas. There are also glimpses of Ms. Mutter and Mr. Orkis during practice sessions as they discuss their approach to the sonatas. They even reveal that they have a few disagreements about how to perform some passages, but they also show how to fuse differing styles into demonstrations of virtuosity. Surprisingly, Ms. Mutter even admits that she and Herbert von Karajan regret an early recording that they made together. (Optional German, French, and Chinese subtitles accompany the documentary.) (When you first insert the disc into your DVD player, the software will ask you to choose either English or Chinese language menus.)

There is also a gallery of other music-oriented DVD titles available from Deutsche Grammophon (part of the Vivendi Universal conglomerate).

--Miscellaneous--
A paper booklet provides chapter listings and essays about Anne-Sophie Mutter, the sonatas themselves, and the "A Life With Beethoven" documentary in English, German, and French.

Entertainment Value:
Compared to "Anne-Sophie Mutter: A Life With Beethoven", "Anne-Sophie Mutter: Beethoven--The Complete Violin Sonatas" is a masterpiece. You get to experience all 10 sonatas in the Paris concerts. The sonatas are sublime creations, and the Mutter-Orkis collaboration yielded powerful interpretations that join the Wilhelm Kempff-Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Rudolf Serkin-Adolf Busch partnerships as high-points in the history of recorded classical music. You owe it to yourself to tickle your ears with the extraordinary odyssey taken by Ms. Mutter and Mr. Orkis.

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