John Williams and Anne-Sophie MutterReunite for World Premiere Recordingof the Composer’s Violin Concerto No. 2– Written Especially for Mutter
Alongside Three Film Themes in SpecialNew Arrangements by Williams
Out Today, June 3, 2022 on Deutsche Grammophon
“Marion’s Theme” from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost ArkMusic Video Out Today, June 4 Watch the Music Video YouTube Premiere
Deutsche Grammophon is releasing the world premiere recording of John Williams’ “Violin Concerto No. 2.” today. The work was written for and recorded by the venerated composer’s friend and frequent collaborator Anne-Sophie Mutter. Her impassioned performance was given with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Williams, who celebrated his 90th birthday on February 8. Listen to the second movement here.
The new album also includes three film themes newly arranged for the violinist by their composer – the Theme from The Long Goodbye, “Han Solo and the Princess” from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and “Marion’s Theme” from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes is out now on CD, Vinyl, and digitally. Blu-ray and eVideo formats will be released on August 19, 2022, together with an exclusive 10-inch Vinyl available on the DG Store.
Williams and Mutter have worked together often since she gave the first performance of his Markings in Boston almost five years ago, and have co-starred on two previous and hugely successful DG albums: Across the Stars (2019) and John Williams in Vienna (2020). Williams’ second violin concerto reflects his deep admiration for the lyrical warmth and dynamism of Mutter’s playing and for her sense of musical adventure.
Full of stylistic contrast, Williams’ Violin Concerto No. 2 begins with the rhapsodic “Prologue”. This is followed by the atmospheric, Debussyesque “Rounds”, and then by the tense, jazzy “Dactyls”, which includes a brief cadenza for violin, harp and timpani. Violin and harp duet again in the “Epilogue”, which concludes the work with what the composer describes as “a gentle resolution in A major that might suggest both healing and renewal”.
Mutter and Williams gave the world premiere of the concerto on July 24, 2021 at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home in Tanglewood. “Mutter carried the solo like an old friend, shaping each phrase with intention and panache,” observed the Boston Globe. The musicians all reconvened in the autumn to record the concerto and the three film themes at Boston’s Symphony Hall.
Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes TracklistWilliams: Violin Concerto No. 2 1. I. Prologue [11:12] 2. II. Rounds [09:28] 3. III. Dactyls [6:00] 4. IV. Epilogue [8:17]5. Williams: Theme from The Long Goodbye [5:54]6. Williams: “Han Solo and the Princess” from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back [5:26]7. Williams: Marion’s Theme from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark [4:23]