Lisa Batiashvili plays a Guarneri violon of Jesus from 1739 “Generously loaned by a private collector”, specifies the hall program of the Philharmonie de Paris which illustrates the concert of February 21 given by the German violinist of Georgian origin with the Royal Orchestra of the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, under the direction of Paavo Järvi. On the program, the most emblematic of the violin concertos, that of Beethoven.
The Estonian chef’s sober baton launched the mighty Dutch machine. No need for a warm-up tower. Four imperious timpani strikes. Apart from a slightly inaccurate wind entry, the orchestral introduction sculpts the musical material in broad strokes, clearly outlining each of the composer’s intentions. The violin made its way in three strokes of the bow on an arpeggiated triple octave followed by a note held in the treble. Immediately striking, the sovereign playing of the 44-year-old young woman, square cut, bare shoulders in a long flowing dress with patinated gilding, radiates – accuracy of intonation, fluctuating bow, expressiveness on edge. Lots of elegance and finesse, but also power and ardor in this luminous violin, whose high notes are adorned with incredible voluptuousness.
Like many classical scores that have passed through the sieve of historically informed readings in recent decades, the interpretation of Beethoven’s concerto naturally adopts more sustained tempos, a more meticulous articulation compared to the original score, a new dramaturgy between soloist and orchestra. This is why the choice of cadenzas, those moments of “freedom” where the violinist plays completely alone, has taken on a crucial turn.
Generations have reproduced without flinching the essential contributions of violinists like Joseph Joachim, Fritz Kreisler, or even Wolfgang Schneiderhan (who transcribed for violin the cadenzas left by Beethoven in his transcription of the work for piano). But Lisa Batiashvili, like her colleagues Gidon Kremer (who commissioned it), Patricia Kopatchinskaia or Vadim Gluzman, opted for more uncomfortable music, that which Alfred Schnittke had written in 1977.
Imposing fifth symphony
Real cadenzas of a composer (and not of virtuosos) which immediately summon modernity within the Beethoven monument. So does that of the first movement, hailing the descendants of the genre, Brahms, Bartok, Berg, even Shostakovich, while the unexpected intervention of the timpani dramatizes the discourse. The same is true in the playful and rebellious finale, in addition to the thematic reminder of the allegro ma non troppo, this strange vibrating dissonant drone, inoculated by a trill for ten violins in the row, which will lead to the triumph of the coda. As an encore, the famous aria from the Suite for orchestra no 3 in era major BWV 1068 by Bach, which the luminous Lisa Batiashvili will dedicate to the victims of the war in Ukraine as well as those of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
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