Lisa Batiashvili, the Georgian-born German violinist, is praised by audiences and fellow musicians for her virtuosity. An award-winning artist, she has developed long-standing relationships with the world’s leading orchestras, conductors and musicians. In 2021, Batiashvili formed and continues to lead the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation, which serves her lifelong dream and commitment in supporting young, highly talented Georgian musicians to thrive in their musical careers.
In 2023-24, Batiashvili takes up her residency with Berliner Philharmoniker, performing across the season at home and on tour with Kirill Petrenko and Daniel Barenboim. She also performs chamber concerts with Emmanuel Pahud and musicians from Wiener Philharmoniker, as well as with Jörg Widmann, Denis Kozhukhin and Tsotne Zedginidze, a talented young Georgian pianist and composer supported by her foundation. The final part of the residency features her as soloist with Berliner Philharmoniker Academy.
Following their most recent tour of Europe, Batiashvili returns to the stage with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and cellist Gautier Capuçon, giving recitals and master classes across the United States, culminating in a performance at Carnegie Hall. She also performs recitals this season with Giorgi Gigashvili. The season will also see her performing with Münchner Philharmoniker, San Francisco Symphony and Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2022-23, Batiashvili returned to New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, as well as to the Wiener Philharmoniker as a featured artist at the Wiener Konzerthaus.
Recording exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon, Batiashvili saw the release of her latest album “Secret Love Letters” in August 2022, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as Franck Sonata with Giorgi Gigashvili.
Her 2020 recording, “City Lights,” marks a musical journey that takes listeners around the world to 11 cities with an autobiographical connection with music ranging from Bach to Morricone, and Dvořák to Charlie Chaplin. A 12th city was added in 2022 with the release of her single “Desafinado,” celebrating Rio de Janeiro. At the renowned Concert de Paris on Bastille Day in 2020, she performed the title track ’City Memories,” which was broadcast internationally.
Her impressive discography also includes “Visions of Prokofiev” (Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Yannick Nézet-Séguin), which won an Opus Klassik Award and was short-listed for the 2018 Gramophone Awards. Earlier recordings include the concertos of Tchaikovsky and Sibelius (Staatskapelle Berlin/Daniel Barenboim), Brahms (Staatskapelle Dresden/Christian Thielemann) and Shostakovich (Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Esa-Pekka Salonen).
Bastiashvili has had DVD releases of live performances with Berliner Philharmoniker/Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 1) and with Gautier Capuçon, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann (Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Cello).
She has won many awards: the MIDEM Classical Award, Choc de l’année, Accademia Musicale Chigiana International Prize, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival’s Leonard Bernstein Award and Beethoven-Ring. Batiashvili was named Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year in 2015, was nominated as Gramophone’s Artist of the Year in 2017 and in 2018 was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Sibelius Academy (University of Arts, Helsinki).
Bastiashvili was also artistic director of Audi Sommerkonzerte Ingolstadt for four years between 2019 and 2022.
She lives in Munich and plays a Joseph Guarneri “del Gesu” from 1739, generously lent by a private collector.
August 2023
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
