Lisa Batiashvili
seems to be emerging at the top of the heap of young violinists. Her recent releases have done well, and this one hit best-seller lists in late summer of 2022. The result is that she is now the focus of big-time marketing concepts like the
Secret Love Letters
notion attached to this program of French and Polish music. In truth, it's a bit thin, based on the idea that the four-year-old
Batiashvili
had secret love affairs with her violin and with another four-year-old. The music is romantic, like much of the music of its period, but the "secret" aspect of the inspirations of these pieces are pretty tenuous (
Chausson
's
Poeme
was originally based on a
Turgenev
short story that might have filled the bill, while
Franck
Violin Sonata in A major
was a wedding present to
Eugene Ysaye
that was quite public, not secret at all.) The thing is,
's playing has progressed to a point where she doesn't need marketing concepts. She has a consistently rich tone in these pieces, which hang together nicely on their own, and she musters a good deal of charisma in the technically challenging
and in the
Szymanowski
violin concerto
, receiving note-perfect support from the
Philadelphia Orchestra
under
Yannick Nezet-Seguin
. In
sonata
, she has a notable rapport with accompanist
Giorgi Gigashvili
in the swirls of rhythmic undercurrents that give the work its piquancy. Another strong outing from
all around. ~ James Manheim