Previn was married four times previously, most famously to actress Mia Farrow. Mutter had been married once before, to attorney Detlef Wundelich (also nearly three decades her senior), who died in 1995.
When Previn and Mutter married in 2002, the match was widely publicized as being creative as well as romantic. He wrote several works for her, including a violin concerto which they toured widely together and whose DG recording won a Grammy Award in 2005.
When asked, in 2002, by David Patrick Stearns of The Philadelphia Inquirer whether being married to the composer of a concerto allowed special insights, Mutter replied, "The musician's compositions and private personality have little to do with each other. I don't think I would play the Beethoven Violin Concerto any different if he were my husband."
Previn chimed in, "Married to Beethoven? I can't cope with that thought!"