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Anne-Sophie Mutter and group of proteges play Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall / AXS review

November 21 in Toronto was a hot night for music, but for those in attendance for Anne-Sophie Mutter & Mutter Virtuosi would no doubt say they had the cream of the croup. The world-renowned violinist brought her troop of former and current scholarships (as part of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation) to Roy Thomson Hall for a concert, which included harpsichordist Knut Johanessen. Though there were but three pieces performed, they spanned centuries and styles for an impressive Canadian debut by the Mutter Virtuosi.

Mutter started off with double bassist Roman Patkolo for "Ringtone Variations", a Sebastian Currier piece commissioned by the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. Hearing it played is what it must have been like to have been witness for Stravinsky's Paris debut of "Rite of Spring": it was a dissonant piece that demanded intense intellectual attention, with Mutter and Patkolo playing call-and-answer with the passages. Currier was inspired by the amelody of non-song ringtones, the ones that seem to beep and spurt a bunch of notes without any great or overarching narrative. READ THE FULL AXS REVIEW.