Anne-Sophie Mutter has spent the past 30 years building her reputation as not only one of the premier violinists of our time, but more specifically as a specialist in the interpretation of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

      In celebration of the composer's 250th birthday, Mutter has recorded and released The Mozart Project, a very special three-series DVD and CD collection of all his major compositions for violin.

      Born in Rheinfelden, Germany, she began her career in 1979. Since then, she has won Grammys, along with numerous other awards, and has performed around the world. Her 2007 concert calendar takes her to 13 countries and features a variety of highlights including two premieres. Although she has been playing and interpreting Mozart's work her entire life, she says that she suddenly felt the urgent desire "to do it right this time." But that isn't the only reason.

      "I do it simply because I love his music very much, and because it has made my spine tingle and moved me to tears, and because it always reaches out to audiences. This project is a celebration of him and a deep bow to his genius. I hope there will be some positive surprises for the listener, but these recordings are not intended to displace those that already exist."

      The selected repertoire covers a range of the legendary composer's work and was very carefully selected by Mutter. "I chose the most important works from all three creative periods: the Mannheim period and the middle and later periods in Vienna," she says. "And I tried to order them in such a way that they make musical sense but are also manageable from a technical point of view."

      Mutter's knowledge and background come from carefully evaluating hundreds of Mozart's letters from the related time periods to understand what was going on in his life. In addition, she has studied every aspect of his compositional choices. After 30 years, you might think she knows these pieces inside and out. But that's not that case.

      "I've always enjoyed finding something new in the score, even if it's only a line in the second fiddle whose importance I had noticed before," she says. "A lot has happened in my life over the last 30 years—that alone seems reason enough to try it a second time. What comes out when you are 12 years old does so purely by instinct, and if you continue to be guided by instinct it's not enough; you just repeat yourself. You can only grow artistically if instinct is combined with a curious mind."

      It's clear that her passion for Mozart is overwhelming. Her obsession began when she was just 6 and heard a recording by Clara Haskil. Since then, Mozart has been a daily presence in her life. "I've never stopped thinking about him, and I've always been trying out new ways to get closer to him. He's the composer I have grown up with, who was always there waiting for me at every juncture of my career.

      "I don't think I ever heard string players performing Mozart as I thought he should be played," she states bluntly. "The approach these days is over-virtuosic, and lacks elegance and purity and modesty. Mozart's music is like an X-ray of your soul—it shows what is there and what isn't! The important thing is not the number of notes, but the interaction of the instruments and the development of the ideas. That's why it's important for an artist to play a complete cycle."

      Mutter is joined on The Mozart Project by the Sinfonia Concertante featuring violist Yuri Bashmet. "For me he is the greatest viola player," she says. "He's spent 30 years enlarging the viola repertoire and will leave behind many works, which he has inspired, for future violists to play. I like his hyper-emotionality, which you might not expect to find in a Mozart player, but which means he sometimes adds things to the score that I would never think of. I like to play with people who, while having an approach that harmonizes with mine, have very different ideas, so that we grow together like yin and yang."

      Also joining her on the project are Lambert Orkis, with whom she performed the sonatas, and Sir André Previn and Daniel Müller-Schott, with whom she recorded the concertos. Mutter also used this opportunity to direct the London Philharmonic Orchestra herself.

      In 1987 Mutter established the Rudolf Eberle Foundation, which supports young string instrumentalists from all over Europe. In the fall of 1997 the foundation was relocated to Munich, where it coexists with the Friends of Anne Sophie Mutter Foundation, which supports young, talented musicians worldwide. She also takes a special interest in medical and social problems. She regularly lends her support to these causes through charitable concerts.

      To learn more about Anne-Sophie Mutter, visit www.anne-sophie-mutter.de.