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From 1976, when Herbert von Karajan – already a legend – met the prodigiously gifted 13-year-old Anne-Sophie Mutter until his death 13 years later, she was the only violinist to appear with him in concert and on disc. This 5-CD set contains all the concertos they recorded together for Deutsche Grammophon. It includes the concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Bruch and Brahms; but now, for the first time, there is also the Tchaikovsky Concerto, as well as the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Mark Zeltser and Yo-Yo Ma, and the Brahms Double Concerto with Antonio Meneses.

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To mark her highly publicised performance at the 2011 Classic Brits, DG are releasing this stunning 2CD set of some of her very best recordings. Arranged chronologically, the compilation’s sequence offers a comprehensive look at Anne Sophie Mutter’s Deutsche Grammophon career — from her Mozart debut in 1978 to her Brahms Sonatas in 2010, with all of her musical partners.

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Anne-Sophie Mutter first recorded these sonatas over a quarter century ago (at the age of nineteen) for EMI. Mutter’s return to this repertoire here naturally shows greater maturity, but also greater nuance and musicality. In the A major, the violinist reveals a tempered strength that buoys the opening theme, followed by playful interplay in the Andante before a more majesterial finale. The celebrated D minor is, while at times soaring, ultimately a more delicate creature. In the Presto, Mutter achieves, through alternating scrappy bridgework and shy attack, a pleasing variety of tones, with a pizzicato as sonorous as acoustic guitar. She imbues the quiet and personal G major with comfort and a soft touch. Throughout, the violinist is warmly complemented by pianist Lambert Orkis’s flowing lines and thoughtfully voiced accords.

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This is certainly one of the great collections of modern music, and it's much to Mutter's credit that she plays this music. She's not just a babe, though that's frequently how she's packaged on CD covers. She can really play, with tremendous fire, for instance, on the great Bartok 2d, or subtlety and nuance on the Berg. The two Lutoslawski's call for rapid changes in style, perhaps Mutter's greatest strength. The lesser known works on this set are really worth it, too--the Moret is dazzling, the Rihm mysterious and beautiful.

Mutter's Mozart violin sonata E minor is unparalleled in its emotional depth. Better than any other recent recordings and even historical recordings by Arthur Grumiaux. Another works are also excellent.