“The key to Szymanowski’s concerto lies in its balance, the control of which was in the masterly hands of the violinist Lisa Batiashvili. She played the solo line like a seamless, lyrical song”

“What a violinist! Lisa Batiashvili approaches Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto with masterful composure. Her playing is flawless, the technical demands of this showpiece among the virtuoso concertos cannot be heard from her. It goes without saying that she does not use fireworks to display technical skills, but rather puts them at the service of music. The Gewandhausorchester around Batiashvili follows this filigree and powerful, elegant and existential, romantic as well as classicist excursion with devoted self-assurance; giving and receiving, closely interwoven with the unique sparkle that Lisa Batiashvili elicits from her Guarneri.”

“Batiashvili’s playing was cool in the questing introduction…producing sophisticated lyricism…The second subject was warm and supple. The development, with its hopping staccato double-stops, was light on its feet, with an impish air. The cadenza was beautifully shaped and technically impeccable.”

“Batiashvili floats the endless melody of the second movement with perfect poise”

“Batiashvili was completely in the zone – masterful, committed, dream-like and sometimes nightmarish with fiery aggression, bow flailing over strings and fingers nimble and precise. Her performance was captivating and totally absorbing, full of tension, reflection and impassioned drama.”

“… a magnificently lithe and lyrical performance of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto from Lisa Batiashvili, which caught the heroic stature of the music without any sense of strain.”

“Lisa Batiashvili played Dvorak’s Violin Concerto, and did so brilliantly. Fiery, eloquent and rich-toned, she searched the music for maximum expression and brought passion to the solo line.”

“…carefully executed, tremendously confident and entirely devoid of bravura or machismo. Batiashvili’s playing was clear in every way – sparkling articulation, pure sound in high positions, and phrasing and shifts simultaneously carefully planned and utterly artistic.”

“It is a tribute to Barenboim, and particularly to the musicianship of Lisa Batiashvili, that the excellence of her performance of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto was far from overshadowed by the Elgar that followed. Batiashvili’s playing had all the mix of gutsy grandeur and soaring lines the piece demands, with the details never blurred even in the tearaway finale, while the interplay between soloist and orchestra was of a very special order.”