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Safeguarded by Sophia

In February 2007 the Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina – she was born in Chistopol in Tatarstan in 1931 and has lived in Germany since 1992 – was awarded Hamburg’s prestigious Bach Prize: as a “pioneer of contemporary classical music” who has forged a link between Eastern and Western music. Her own music has been inspired by that of Johann Sebastian Bach in more ways than one, with the result that it seemed obvious for Anne-Sophie Mutter to record two of Bach’s concertos alongside her worldpremiere recording of Gubaidulina’s most recent violin concerto, a piece dedicated to Mutter. “There is a profound spiritual affinity between Gubaidulina and Bach,” ... more

Anne-Sophie Mutter is this year's recipient of the International Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, which comes with a cash endowment of 200,000 euros. The violinist is donating half of the prize money to the "Anne-Sopie Mutter Foundation", which was officially recognized by the German government on July 7, 2008. The objective of the foundation is to further increase worldwide support for promising young musicians - a task which the violinist took on when she founded the "The Anne-Sophie Mutter Circle of Friends Foundation" in 1997.
The Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts presented the coveted award to Anne-Sophie Mutter on April 24, 2008, at a ceremony in Munich's Jugendstil landmark, the Münchener Kammerspiele. The eulogy was delivered by Joachim Kaiser. more
Laudation by Joachim Kaiser
A word of thanks by Anne-Sophie Mutter
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