Violinist Lisa Batiashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1979. Her father was a violinist and her mother a pianist. Before age three she was playing a miniature violin. She also studied piano in her childhood. From age eight, she studied music at a Tbilisi music school for gifted children. Amidst the dissolution of the Soviet Union, her family emigrated to Munich, Germany, when she was 11.
Ms. Batiashvili studied music at the Hamburg Musikhochschule with Mark Lubotski and at the Munich Musikhochschule with Ana Chumachenco. At 16 Ms. Batiashvili captured second prize at the Helsinki-based Sibelius Competition. From 1999 to 2001 she was a BBC New Generation Artist, debuting at the 2000 BBC Proms.
Today I heard her play the Sibelius Violin Concerto in a recording with the Berlin Philharmonic. By coincidence she also played the same work many years ago with the Toronto Symphony when I happened to be in town.
Her performance today was outstanding; secure, confident, and frequently smiling to herself or to orchestral players. Quite a show, really.
Here is Ms. Batiashvili in this masterpiece from the violin litersture:
