Lisa Batiashvili: 2024/25 LSO Artist Portrait

Violinist Lisa Batiashvili takes centre stage as the focus of this year’s LSO Artist Portrait, joining the Orchestra at the Barbican and on tour throughout Europe for contrasting violin concertos by Schnittke, Szymanowski and Mozart. She tells us here what we can expect.

I am immensely happy to be featured in the Artist Portrait series with the great LSO and to work with Sir Antonio Pappano and Gianandrea Noseda, conductors whom I greatly admire.

Alfred Schnittke: Violin Concerto No 1

Sunday 13 April 7pm, Barbican, with Gianandrea Noseda

‘Performing Alfred Schnittke’s Violin Concerto No 1 holds a deep personal significance for me. This piece takes me back to a pivotal time in my life, when I had just moved to Germany at the age of twelve. At that time, I was immersed in Schnittke’s music through the influence of my former teacher, Mark Lubotsky. Mark was a close friend of Schnittke, and both resided in Hamburg during that period. Hearing Schnittke’s music through Mark’s guidance made a lasting impression on me.

This Concerto, being one of Schnittke’s earlier works, carries a distinct echo of the Shostakovich era. It feels like a continuation of that musical language, just before Schnittke began to fully establish his own unique voice. The Concerto’s raw emotional intensity, the interplay of beauty and dissonance and the profound sense of struggle all resonated with me then and continue to do so now.

Rediscovering this piece now, after so many years, feels almost like revisiting a long-lost part of myself. It brings a sense of closure and a connection to the past that I am finally able to share with new audiences. Performing this work with the London Symphony Orchestra, especially during these gloomy times, feels profoundly meaningful. It’s a chance to explore not just the music but also the memories and emotions tied to it. I am grateful for the opportunity to share this journey with both the orchestra and the listeners.’

Karol Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No 1

Thursday 22 May 7pm, Barbican, with Sir Antonio Pappano

‘In 2018, I discovered Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No 1, and from the very first encounter, I fell deeply in love with it. Performing this piece was a revelation – a journey into a world of shimmering colours, carolling birds and seductive singing, all wrapped in secretive and enchanting musical lines.

Szymanowski’s Concerto is like no other, a composition where the orchestra’s explosive character intertwines with the violin’s elegant, almost dance-like solo voice. The solo violin floats effortlessly over the orchestral texture, as if dancing on a rich, vibrant sound carpet woven from layers of harmony and rhythm. This contrast between the soloist’s graceful lines and the orchestra’s powerful presence in tuttis is utterly mesmerising. Performing this Concerto has left an indelible mark on my musical soul. Every time I revisit it, I’m reminded of that first encounter – the thrill of discovering a piece so rich in colour and depth, so full of life and poetic mystery.’

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Concerto No 5

Sunday 25 May 7pm, Barbican, with Sir Antonio Pappano

‘Among the three works I’m performing this year with the LSO, Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 5 stands out as the most popular – and for good reason. Known as the ‘Turkish’ Concerto due to the distinctive middle section of the third movement, which features a spirited, exotic à la Turca passage, it is a brilliant and multifaceted piece that truly showcases Mozart’s genius.

What fascinates me most about this Concerto is how it represents the culmination of Mozart’s violin writing – his final and most complete statement in the genre. It combines an operatic sense of drama and lyricism with that unmistakable Mozartian wit and lightness. The result is a melange of the theatrical and the joyful, a dialogue between elegance and exuberance.

Working on this Concerto with Sir Antonio Pappano is particularly thrilling for me. As one of the greatest opera conductors of our time, Tony brings a unique perspective to Mozart’s inherently operatic quality. This will be the first time I am performing Mozart with him, and I am eager to see how his remarkable sense of drama and nuance will enrich the experience. I can’t wait to bring this vibrant, timeless music to life with the LSO!’