American Record Guide Saturday, August 1, 2008 Hisgazra6¥) 5580 Bestnioven: viotin concert: TSINTSADZE: Miniatures Usa Baia German Chamber Pitharmon- {cs Georgian Chamber Orchestra Sony 7394057 minutes Lisa Batiash opens with Sulkhan TTsintsadze's arrangements of folk music from their native Georgia. tsadze's arrange: ments are somerines abit oo slick for ty tases butmay be misjudglng them Because snot air wit this musi Her reading of the Beethoven Violin Con certo shows some influence of period-perfor. mance practice, The strings ofthe orchestra play without brato, whith ests na ean found and greater clarity inthe counterpoint Batiashvli nixed vibrato for the orchestra (she is the conductor on this disc, and she is quite good), why did she use the usual continuous modern vibrato in her solo playing? | was also disappointed by the soft mallets used by th restrained trumpets, Every now and then, [hear a recording of ‘work that makes me rethink it, and with the Beethoven Violin Concerto that recording was Christian Tetaaff and David Zinman with the ‘Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra (Nov/Dec 2006). 1 how evaluate all other recordings of the work in light of their recording, Batiashvill makes a fashionable nod in the direction of period per: formance practice, but Tetzlaff and Zinman hhave drunk deeply from the wel of late classi cal style and logic and finally made sense of this piece for me. I had always felt that some: thing was either wrong with this concerto or, more likely, withthe way it was always playec timpanist and the Tetzlaff and Zinman put the odd stylistic pieces together so they feel right to me, and they don't need to eschew vibrato 10 do it ‘Whether musicians choose to vibrate in classi cal music or not is not if they choose not to big issue with me, but should be so they can hear the music with fresh ears and try different solutions to problems of phrs ig and charac- terization. Batiashvili seems to be an intelli- gent musician, and ‘one who can play the solo part of this concerto land conduct the orchestra at the same time. If she would go further down the road of period performance and trim most ofthe vibrato from her own playing, m impressed with any- the timpanist a harder set of mallets, and let the trumpets blare, she ‘might learn something really new from this, ‘musie that she could then communicate to us. Batiashvili plays the "Engleman” Stradivarius (f 1709. Very good sound. MAGHL ‘Account A020¥6 (2834) Page tof 1Saturday, August 1, 2008 Wogezr @Y) bor2s8 tfranfare TSINTSADZE (arrT. Batiashvil) Miniatures." BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto” + Lisa Baliashuil (vn) cond; Georgian CO; German CP Bremen’ « SONY 733400 (56:25) Lisa Batiashvli has supplemented Beethoven's Violin Concerto with six of 15 miniatures by the Georgian composer Sulkhan Tsintsadze, miniatures that Batiashvili's father, Tamas, arranged for violin and strings. Strongly rhythmic, with brash percussive effets, the first of these,“ Mzkemsuri,” borings tart timbres that evoke the exotic world of Bartok’s Rumanian Folk Dances. The second, “Suliko." with its indolently rocking rhythms and harmosies, might pass as a Mexican interlude. “Lake” begins energetically, with the strings tossing motives back and forth but it surrounds a soft central seston, “Indi-Mindi” follows inthe sane general pattern. “Tzin Tzarko” opens with a plain= tive statement by the solo violin, and tums even darker and more brooding when the strings enter, Here, the violin plays an ethereal figuration that recalls Fames Newton Howard's atmosphere seore (ith Hilary Hahn as solo violinist) for dhe movie, The Village. For the most part, though, the solo violin doesn’t play a vinuosie roe in the miniatures; the rhythms generally swiel in the orchestra and the violin supplies elfin commentary to both these passages and the more lyrical episodes. “Satchidao” brings the set. a conclusion in a Gypsy-like dance Tn view ofthe imposing symphonic stature of Beethoven's Concerto and her relative youth, it ‘may seem surprising that Batiashvili chose to conduct the orchestra as well as to play the solo. But the opening tutti, strongly percussive and marked by haie-raising dynamic contrasts, suggests that she wanted to make her own stalement. Compared with the orchestral part, her solo on the 1709 Engleman Stradivari sounds commanding to be sure, but rich, lithe, and silvery as well, with each register strongly characterized~—but nary a hat of roughness. Her detailed exposition ofthe aevom- ‘animent, enhanced by recorded sound of exceptional transparency. reveals detailed interactions between the winds and stings and a wealth of motivie interplay that might otherwise go without highlighting. The overall result though imposing, never sounds simply massive, because in the most heavily orchestrated passages, definition remains high; yet the trees never obscure the forest. (This kind of playing and musical direction sounds strongly reminiscent of the bracing transformation period instrumentalists have worked on concertos by Vivaldi) If, in the frst movement of the ‘Concerto, the Soloist risks slipping into the role of commentator ox matters too weighty tobe entust- ced toa single violin, Batashvli throughout asserts her dominating instrumental and musical vision, ‘never allowing the violin to be miniturized—or even Subordinated. And individual touches abound for example, she pauses here and there to set up @ passage, enhancing the dramatic impact by the ‘most economical of means. And she reveals her purely volinistc command in Kreiserscadenzas The slow movement elicits from Batashvli violinist and Batiashvili conductor a similar strong- ‘mindedness. It never grows sleepy, though her playing ofthe middle section offers hushed, breath less reflection of great profundity and sensitivity. And she reveals the importance ofeach and every rote in each and every passage, no matter how mechanical it might look on the printed page. Her playing and direction in the Finale suggest aw energy (eminiscent ofthat in the opening movement) rather than bucolic revelry, In her strong-mindediness, Batiashvili comes perbaps closer to the — ‘dynamism and drive of Isabella Faust, among rising stars who have recently recorded the work by ‘ising stars (with Jfi Bélohlavek and the Prague Philharmonia on Harmonia Mundi 901944, 32:4) than to the more relaxed elegance of Vadim Repin with Riccardo Muti, Vienna Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophon 000966302, 31:4 Those who lament the large-sale playing of violinists of the Golden Age may find in BBatiashvili’s a fresh edition of many ofthe characteristics (yet, perhaps notably, without the imme- diate identifiability) that sem to have lamentably disappeared into the recorded past—and now engineers can capture them in recorded sound fully worthy of the performance. Urgently recom ‘mended to those listeners and, in fat, all others, as well. Robert Maxham Page tof 1 Account A020¥6 (2873)DESERET NEWS Sundey. uy 19,2000 SALT take omy, UT Cireulaton (OMA): 73,1565) Type frequen): Newspaver(s) Page cree eyo iba Satta Recordings show off violinists’ virtuosity 1 ee) epi By Edward Reich! enoret NewS \ADIM REPIN, VIOLIN, TRULS MORK, CELLO, RICCARDO CHAILLY, ‘CONDUCTOR, GEWANDHAUSO- [RCHESTER; Brahms: Violin Con- certo, Double Concerto (Deutsche (Grammophon) 33¢%4 LUISABATIASHVILL VIOLIN AND ‘CONDUCTOR, DEUTSCHE KAMMER- PHILHARMONIE BREMEN AND THE ‘GEORGIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA; Beethoven, Tsintsadze (Sony Clas- seal) $434 Vadim Repin is one of the ‘most highly sought after vio- linists today. He's reached the point in his career where he chooses what he wants to re- cord and with whom — quite an achievement for an arti in today’s cutthroat recording industry. For his debut recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto and Double Concerto, Repin has chosen his collaborators wisely, Celist Truls Mork and conductor Riccardo Chailly are true artists whose must cality and interpretative skills fithand in glove with Repin's, With so many recordings of the Brahms Violin Concerto already readily available on CD and iTunes, its risky for a label to release yet another ‘one, But Deutsche Grammo- phon no doubt figured that Repin’s name alone will sell the album. It doesn't hurt, of course, but this is not the best performance available. Repin gives a reflective, almost somber, account of the opening movement that is gorgeously crated, sit and heartfelt, But at feels lethargic. Too frequently, it lacks the quiet intensity that propels this music and ives it life ‘Making it interesting, Repin uses Jascha Heifetz’s cadenza rather than the one by Joseph Joachim that everyone knows. Heifetz’s cadenza adds a new dimension to the first move- ment. ‘The rest of the work fares much better than the fist movement, The slow move- ‘ment has depth and warmth, and the finale is driven and impassioned. It has all the ele- ments that would have helped shape and define the opening. allegro. ‘The real gem on this CD, however, is the Double Concerto. Repin and Mork are in fine form, bringing Vitality and passion to their reading of the first and last movements, while the middle movement exhibits wonder fully crafted lyricism, ‘Throughout their perfor mance, Repin and Merk bring nuanced expressiveness and rich coloration to their play- ing that captures the warmth and passion of the work. This is without question one of| the finest recordings of the Double Concerto available Please see €DS on E12 today. aoa ‘Young Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili is making a great career for herself. She's on the verge of striking it huge in the crowded world of concert violinists, And she has a lot going for her. She is incredibly talented, wonderfully musical and technically solid, along with possessing a fine sense of inter pretation. On her recent album, she also conducts and shows herself quite capable in that role, ‘as well, as she leads the Deutsche Kam merphilharmonie Bremen in Beethoven's Violin Concerto and the Georgian Chamber Orchestra (which is now based in Germany) in countryman Sulkhan Tsintsadze’s “Minia- tures.” Thirty-year-old Batiashvili gives a very melodie reading of the Beethoven, capturing the sweetly tinged lyricism of the work in her playing. Her account is nuanced, and she brings out the minute details of the score that brings depth to her performance. But having said that, there is nothing that distinguishes her interpretation. It nice ‘and pleasing, but there is nothing in it that makes one want to rush out and buy her CD. She's done better in previous record ings (she does have a wonderful recording ofthe Sibelius concerto with the Finnish Radio Symphony under Sakari Oramo). The Beethoven, unfortunately, is rather generic. But she is still young, and hopefully, she'l recond it again in a few years. ‘Tsintsadze's "Miniatures" isa delightful companion piece to the Beethoven. These six brief pieces (originally written for string ‘quartet in the 1940s) are exuberant and ‘vibrant and make great use of folk elements. Batiashvili gives a radiant reading that cap- tures the character of the pieces wonderfully. E-MAIL: erectloteseas.on Account AO20VC (2890) Page 1 of2