As she approaches the 50th anniversary of her international debut, Anne-Sophie Mutter is reshaping the focus of her recording activity with ASM Forte Forward, a new series devoted exclusively to contemporary music. The project marks the beginning of a recording partnership with Alpha Classics and places newly written works—many commissioned for her—at the centre of her discography.
Rather than framing the anniversary around retrospective releases, Mutter is using the milestone to consolidate a commitment she has pursued for decades: the active commissioning, performance, and documentation of music by living composers. Each album in the ASM Forte Forward series will feature works written specifically for her, often involving musicians connected to the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation.
The series opens on 23 January 2026 with the release of Likoo, a solo violin work by Iranian-Dutch composer Aftab Darvishi. That single anticipates the first full album, East Meets West, scheduled for release on 27 March 2026. The programme brings together works by Unsuk Chin, Jörg Widmann, Thomas Adès, and Darvishi, moving from solo and chamber music to orchestral repertoire.
The album concludes with Adès’s Air – Homage to Sibelius, recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer himself. Alongside Mutter, the recording features several younger musicians who have worked with her through foundation projects, underlining the pedagogical dimension of the initiative.
A second release, American Tunes #1, is planned for August 2026 and will include works by André Previn and Sebastian Currier. Its release coincides with Mutter’s 50th-anniversary concert at the Lucerne Festival, where she made her international debut in 1976.
For Mutter, the project also represents a structural shift in her recording practice: ASM Forte Forward is the first series she is producing herself. “I choose to be more than a guardian of traditions,” she has said. “Music lives as we renew it and pass it on.”
Beyond the studio, Mutter will introduce Likoo in concert during 2026 in Asia and Europe, integrating the new works directly into her touring repertoire. With ASM Forte Forward, the violinist frames her anniversary not as a retrospective celebration, but as a forward-looking statement—one that positions commissioning and collaboration as central to her artistic legacy.
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