Lisa Batiashvili, Sakari Oramo - Sibelius, Lindberg - Violin Concertos (2007)

The young and inordinately talented and beautiful Elisabeth ('Lisa') Batiashvili has conquered Europe and is making strong impressions here in the USA. She is an artist to watch and follow as her intelligence and musicality make her an important member of the echelon of important young violinist of the time. In this very beautifully balanced recording the listener is treated to a live performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor, recorded in 2007 in Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland with Sakari Oramo conducting the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra as well as the World premiere recording of Magnus Lindberg's Violin Concerto.
Batiashvili's approach to the Sibelius is one of moody atmosphere and she early establishes the plangent themes of the first movement and allows those themes to grow to the point of explosive energy without ever pushing the sound to the point of stridency. The second movement Adagio glows with a stillness and simplicity rarely heard from other interpreters of this concerto and the final movement Allegro is an incisive interaction with the orchestra. The performance is a live recording so the balance between the violin and the orchestra favors the soloist. Batiashvili's phrasing is impeccable and the overall performance contains the drama too often missing from studio recordings. This is a very fine Sibelius recording.
The second work on this solid CD is the Violin Concerto by Magnus Lindberg and is an excellent pairing - two Finnish concerti played by a violinist clearly associated with both Sibelius and Lindberg. The work is in three unmarked movements and displays all of the lush orchestration and creative idea developments that mark this important composer's works. Batiashvili brings sumptuous, rich sound to the extended lines and compelling dexterity to the fiendish, rapid sections. Hers is a very dramatic approach that suits Lindberg well. This concerto, in its world premiere recording, is immediately accessible to the listener, but it is also obvious that repeated listenings will uncover many of the fleeting, beautiful lines he has written for both the soloist and orchestra. For now, the concerto belongs to Batiashvili. Oramo offers strong collaboration form a lushly recorded studio setting of this mighty score. For those who love the Sibelius concerto this is a recording to cherish - enhanced by the introduction to yet another great violin concerto by Lindberg.