With Robin Ticciati as the guest conductor, the Georgian violinist played the Violin Concerto in D major by the German composer with determined virtuosity.
By John Lavitt
Los Angeles (The Hollywood Times) 01-07-2025
On the first weekend in January 2025, accomplished violinist Lisa Batiashvili enthralled the Walt Disney Concert Hall by playing Beethoven’s intimidating Violin Concerto in D Major. Joined by guest conductor Robin Ticciati and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Georgian-born German virtuoso showed why her live performances are so revered in classical music. With a determination that was inspiring to witness, she captured the brilliance of this challenging composition with a precision that became magical to behold.
Batiashvili lives in Berlin, and she plays a Joseph Guarneri “del Gesù” crafted in 1739 and generously loaned to her by a private collector who relishes the instrument being played to its full potential. Bartolomeo Giuseppe “del Gesù” Guarneri (1698 – 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. Rivaling the iconic Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) regarding the reverence accorded his instruments, such a violin is a treasured rarity, with sale prices often exceeding USD 10 million.
Upon hearing Lisa Batiashvili play the instrument live at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, it is not surprising that she was nominated as Gramophone’s Artist of the Year in 2017. Indeed, she brings sounds out of the ethereal and otherworldly instrument while never reining in its natural power. Wearing a red dress in a sea of black and white on stage, Batiashvili was a radiant star shining bright. Although the entire LA Phil sounded perfect backing her, it is clear that Beethoven wrote the concerto as the ultimate showpiece for the violin. She was center stage, a captivating presence who gave the 2025 Season an early highlight to relish and remember.
As the guest conductor, Robin Ticciati, who was honored with the Order of the British Empire, has been the Music Director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin since 2017 and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera since 2014. Additionally, Ticciati was the Principal Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra from 2009 to 2018. Given the stark reality that Gustavo Dudamel will take over the New York Philharmonic in 2026, there was a sense that such a guest performance as a conductor could be something of an audition.
Whether it was or was not an audition, Robin Ticciati did a magnificent job on stage with personality and flair. When Batiashvili was center stage, he knew how to accentuate her performance without getting in the way of her solo virtuosity. Before and after the Beethoven Violin Concerto, he led the LA Phil in taking on two crowd-friendly pieces by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904). Both the opening Prague Waltzes and closing with the composer’s Symphony No. 8 in G Major, the show was bookended with pieces that allowed the LA Phil to shine as one, coming together to display the orchestra’s excellence.
A special highlight of Dvořák’s work is how much the composer enables the wind section of an orchestra to shine in all its glory. From clarinet to oboe, flute to bassoon, the LA Phil did not disappoint in this regard with marvelous performances across the board. The entire program was a success, from Lisa Batiashvili playing the violin to Robin Ticciati conducting the LA Phil.
