Secret Love Letters

by Lisa Batiashvili, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Philadelphia Orchestra

Overview

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's Violin Sonata in A major was a wedding present to Eugene Ysaye that was quite public, not secret at all.) The thing is, Batiashvili'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 Poeme and in the Szymanowski violin concerto, receiving note-perfect support from the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nezet-Seguin. In Franck's 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 Batiashvili all around. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	08/19/2022
Label:	Deutsche Grammophon
UPC:	0028948604623
Rank:	138379

Tracks

1. Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major FWV 8~1. Allegretto ben moderato
2. Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major FWV 8~2. Allegro
3. Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major FWV 8~3. Recitativo-Fantasia. Ben moderato - Molto lento - a tempo moderato
4. Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major FWV 8~4. Allegretto poco mosso
5. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 Op. 35
6. Po¿¿me Op. 25 for violin and orchestra
7. Beau soir L 6 (84)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lisa Batiashvili   Primary Artist,Violin
Yannick Nezet-Seguin   Primary Artist,Piano,Conductor
Philadelphia Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Pawel (Paul) Kochanski   Cadenza
Giorgi Gigashvili   Piano

Technical Credits

Matthias Ziegler   Cover Photo
Claude Debussy   Composer
Oliver Kreyssig   Production Manager
Karol Szymanowski   Composer
Ernest Chausson   Composer
Andrew Mellor   Recording Producer
Jonathan Allen   Mixing,Editing,Mastering,Recording Producer
Eva Reisinger   Booklet Editor
Wolfgang Stahr   Liner Notes
Lisa Batiashvili   Liner Notes
Jessica Griffin   Photography
Julian Schwenkner   Engineer
Tiberio Sorvillo   Photography
Brett Cox   Engineer
Jeff Fusco   Photography
Malene Hill   A&R
Katrin Bahrmann   Design
Philipp Zeidler   Product Manager
Jascha Heifetz   Arranger
L. Gudagnini   Photography
Misha Aster   Executive Producer
Cesar Franck   Composer