Watch Anne-Sophie Mutter play extracts from The Four Seasons at the Edinburgh international festival

By Dilip -
The Edinburgh international festival has been offering a wide and varied programme of music both classical and contemporary for those who can’t face the prospect of another fringe comedian asking the audience if they remember Spangles. And we’ve teamed up with the festival to bring you a series of exclusive short films of the very best performers at work.
We began last week with Anna Calvi and Heritage Orchestra, but today it’s the turn of the German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, performing extracts from the first and third movements of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. She’s accompanied by the Mutter Virtuosi, made of young musicians granted scholarships by the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. “It is particularly difficult nowadays for highly talented young instrumentalists to receive the necessary support during the crucial early years,” Mutter says. “In addition to the huge sums of money spent on lessons, in many cases financing a suitable string instrument poses great problems as well. Along with high purchase costs, there are the necessary insurance fees. Also expensive are trips to the world’s great artists — contacts that are essential for the development of a young musician. The support of young artists presents a challenge to everyone to whom the future of musical life is as important as it is to me.”
Click to see (and hear) the video

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