Anne-Sophie Mutter & Lambert Orkis

Communication through sound

»We are like tightrope walkers who try to give each other the optimal position for the triple somersault with a screw,« says Anne-Sophie Mutter, summarising the special nature of her long-standing stage partnership with Lambert Orkis. They have been rehearsing, travelling and performing together for 35 years – and are celebrated worldwide for their intense chamber music dialogues. »We like each other, we like each other’s playing and presence. [...] A large part of our communication is exclusively through sound,« says Orkis, revealing part of the secret of their success. This also includes the well-chosen programme combinations, which always offer room for new discoveries alongside well-known works by Mozart or Schubert – such as the wonderful three Romances by Clara Schumann, which the composer herself once premiered with the famous violinist Joseph Joachim.