Carmen-Fantasie

Anne-Sophie Mutter brings her impeccable technique and just the right amount of swagger to this 1993 recording of violin concert favorites. It ranges from Pablo de Sarasate’s “Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20,” a popular encore piece that’s virtuosic and heart-melting in equal measure, to Ravel’s atmospheric evocation of the Hungarian violin tradition, “Tzigane, M. 76.” The Vienna Philharmonic, agile and responsive, provides the perfect springboard for Mutter’s dazzling pyrotechnics. At the heart of this captivating album is Sarasate’s blistering Carmen Fantasy, a series of ear-popping variations on the great themes from Bizet’s 1875 opera.