This week, David Letterman had Anne-Sophie Mutter swooping through a Gershwin lollipop for an audience that might have been expecting Death Cab for Cutie or The Knux.
With an ancient Andre Previn in tow, the German violinist was doing the promo grind for AMS35, a new Deutsche Grammophon collection that exhaustively celebrates her 35-year recording career.
If 40 CDs are beyond your budget and stamina, rather unsatisfying nibbles are available on the two-disc Highlights.
Alas, isolated movements, however impressive in their original context, jolt when a Mendelssohn Concerto Finale bursts in after an immaculately poised Mozart Andante with pianist Lambert Orkis.
The only acknowledgement of Mutter's commendable advocacy for the contemporary composer is a four-minute snatch of Lutoslawski, while a sampling of the 11-year-old violinist in solo Prokofiev is a somewhat confrontational opening track for the unwary.
