Anne-Sophie Mutter celebrates 40 years as a violin virtuoso and musical phenomenon, which began with her debuts in recital at the 1976 Lucerne Festival and as a soloist with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Herbert von Karajan at the 1977 Salzburg Whitsun Concert. In four decades she has become one of the leading international artists in the world's major concert halls, serving not only as soloist, but as a visionary in supporting composers and mentoring young string players.

The four-time Grammy Award winner is fully committed both to the performance of traditional composers and to the future of music. So far, she has given world premieres of 24 works by composers who include Sebastian Currier, Henri Dutilleux, Sofia Gubaidulina, Witold Lutosławski, Norbert Moret, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sir André Previn, and Wolfgang Rihm.

Furthermore, she dedicates herself to numerous benefit projects and to supporting tomorrow's emerging artists. In the autumn of 1997, she founded the Association of Friends of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, to which the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation was added in 2008. These two charitable institutions provide support for scholarship recipients. Since 2011, Ms. Mutter has regularly appeared with her ensemble of fellows, the Mutter Virtuosi.

The year 2017, featuring concerts in Europe in North America, reflects the violinist's musical versatility and illustrates her unparalleled rank in the world of classical music. At the Tanglewood Festival, she performs the world premiere of John Williams's work Markings for solo violin, strings, and harp. She also appears at the Salzburg Whitsun and Summer Festivals, Lucerne Summer Festival, and La Scala in Milan, as well as with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Berlin, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She will perform and record Schubert's "Trout" Quintet with Daniil Trifonov and three of her young fellows, and Vivaldi's The Four Seasons with the Mutter Virtuosi. Together with pianist Lambert Orkis, she gives recitals in Europe and North America.

Anne-Sophie Mutter has been awarded the 2017 Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum for her services to music education and young artists. She is the proud holder of the Siemens Music Prize, German Grand Order of Merit, French Medal of the Legion of Honour, Bavarian Order of Merit, Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, and numerous other honors. For additional information, visit anne-sophie-mutter.de.

The musical interests of Lambert Orkis encompass traditional and contemporary music performed on modern and period instruments. His substantial career includes more than 11 years of international touring as a partner with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. For 28 years, he has appeared with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter to capacity audiences in the world's finest performance venues. Their many recordings and DVDs for Deutsche Grammophon include The Club Album, and the complete sonatas by Mozart (Choc de l'année), Beethoven (Grammy), and Brahms.

His distinguished career includes appearances with cellists Lynn Harrell, Anner Bylsma, and Daniel Müller-Schott; violinist Julian Rachlin; and violist Steven Dann. He has also performed with the Vertavo, Emerson, American, Mendelssohn, Curtis, and Manchester string quartets. As a soloist, he has made appearances with conductors who include Christoph Eschenbach, Mstislav Rostropovich, Leonard Slatkin, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Günther Herbig, Robert Kapilow, Leon Fleisher, and Kenneth Slowik, among others.

Mr. Orkis has premiered and recorded compositions of numerous composers, including solo works by George Crumb, Richard Wernick, and James Primosch for Bridge Records. With the National Symphony Orchestra's principal cellist David Hardy, he recorded Beethoven's complete works for piano and cello on the Sono Luminus label.

Mr. Orkis participated as a distinguished performing artist and teacher. He has twice served as juror of and performed for the Trondheim (Norway) International Chamber Music Competition and Festival. As an honored artist at Taiwan's New Aspect International Music Festival, he performed and presented master classes in Taipei.

Mr. Orkis has appeared internationally as an orchestral soloist, performs and records as a member of the Kennedy Center Chamber Players and the Smithsonian Institution's Castle Trio (on period instruments), and holds the positions of principal keyboard of the National Symphony Orchestra and professor of piano at Temple University in Philadelphia. In acknowledgment of his accomplishments, Mr. Orkis was honored with the Cross of the Order of Merit by the Federal Republic of Germany.