Lisa Batiashvili signs to Deutsche Grammophon

15 June 2010

Violinist Lisa Batiashvili has signed an exclusive recording-agreement with Deutsche Grammophon.

The Georgian violinist’s first album for the label features Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto; plus the Waltz from his ballet-suite adaptation Dances of the Dolls; also Rachmaninov’s Vocalise, Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel, and Giya Kancheli’s V&V. In this characteristically thought-provoking programme, the recording brings together works by composers whose artistic lives, like that of the soloist herself, were powerfully impacted by political events in Russia or the Soviet Union, forcing most of them to leave their homeland for the West.  Partnering with Lisa is the Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.

Michael Lang, President of Deutsche Grammophon Decca, commented “Lisa Batiashvili has already established herself as one of the great talents of today. Deutsche Grammophon is delighted to welcome her to our musical family.”

Upon signing, Lisa remarked: “I am extremely excited to be collaborating with Deutsche Grammophon, a company that understands and supports my strong feelings about playing and recording a stimulating mixture of repertoire. My aim will be for each new recording to bring something unique and personal to my listeners while always trying to move closer to what each composer wanted to say.”

The Georgian-born artist, acclaimed for her “dazzling virtuosity” (Financial Times) as well as her “seamless, sensual” bowing and “tone smooth as silk” (Gramophone), is already world renowned for her appearances with orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris the London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestras, among others - and collaborating with such conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, Franz Welser-Möst, Lorin Maazel, Alan Gilbert, Sakari Oramo, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Charles Dutoit.