In a recital of violin classics last weekend, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter brought her stint as New York Philharmonic Artist-in-Residence to a close. The residency not only brought Mutter's electric presence stateside for a season, but also saw the U.S. and world premieres of a number of works by important composers of our times. In a New York Times review of Mutter's final recital as artist-in-residence, Zachary Woolfe complained about Mutter's program of standard repertory by Claude Debussy, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms and Pablo de Sarasate:
Itâs not that it wasnât a perfectly good performance of a perfectly fine program. Itâs just that Ms. Mutterâs tireless advocacy of contemporary composers and provocative programming has led us to expect more from her than a comfortable Sunday afternoon of pretty music.
So what do you think? Since Mutter has embraced the music of contemporary composers, must she now perform new music at every turn? Is there something wrong with hearing a concert of "pretty music" once in a while? Or was it perhaps just a slow day in the New York Times newsroom? Discuss.
