The Week in Reviews, Op. 509: Lisa Batiashvili; Augustin Hadelich; Veronika Eberle

July 22, 2025, 12:47 PM · In an effort to promote the coverage of live violin performance, Violinist.com each week presents links to reviews of notable concerts and recitals around the world. Click on the highlighted links to read the entire reviews.

Violinist Lisa Batiashvili. Photo courtesy the BBC Proms.

Lisa Batiashvili performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo on the opening night of the 2025 Proms.

The Guardian: "The Sibelius... was unquestionably magnificent.... Though technically astonishing, Batiashvili never sounded showy, and the big first movement cadenza was all about musical logic rather than display."
Bach Track: "Batiashvili’s chording was so clean, her tonal registers so unified by legato, that her part sang of a violinistic heritage rooted in Bach and Viotti."

Augustin Hadelich performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Grant Park Orchestra and Keri-Lynn Wilson.

Chicago Classical Review: "His virtuosity is stunning, and he blazed through the first movement’s fiendishly fast, intricately showy passages with effortless aplomb. But the thoughtful passion he brought to the concerto’s more introspective moments was equally impressive. His tone was silky and rounded, even in the slashing strokes that give the concerto its fiery edge."

Veronika Eberle performed Beethoven's Violin Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center.

ClevelandClassical.com: "Eberle brought laser-like precision to the task, her focus especially clear in her high register, where Beethoven keeps the violinist suspended much of the time. It was in these stratospheric heights that she truly began to sing in the slow second movement, soaring with a delicate lyricism that didn’t always come through elsewhere in the work."

Anne Akiko Meyers performed Eric Whitacre's "The Pacific Has No Memory" and Ravel's "Tzigane" with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra.

Sharps and Flatirons: "From the first note (of 'Tzigane'), Meyers opened the floodgates of expression. Her identification with the music’s passionate spirit was reflected in her facial expressions and her dancing movements as she played. The performance was pure entertainment on the highest level."

Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellist Sol Gabetta performed in recital at the Aspen Music Festival.

Seen and Heard International: "At every turn in the music, their facial and body gestures, often seen in rock concerts, spiced up the visual aspects. The grit and wit in two of Jörg Widman’s sarcastic duos benefited from their emphasizing the musical twists and jokes, as did the dissonant flares in PatKop’s own Ghiribizzi (‘whims’) and Xenakis’s exaggerated Greek sonorities in Dhipli Zyia. "

Ray Chen performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America and Gianandrea Noseda at Carnegie Hall.

New York Classical Review: "The violinist is an exciting player, with a sweet tone and volatile manner that sounded perfect for a piece in which familiarity can hide its virtues."

Daniel Lozakovich performed the Korngold Violin Concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Bach Track: "He possesses an artistry that is distant from a fire-breathing virtuosity which smacks the listener in the face and into submission. Instead his intimate and subtle manner coaxes one into more careful listening. This suited well the concerto’s extremely lyrical nature..."

Justin Saulnier performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and Naomi Woo.

Ludwig van Toronto: "With an assured stage presence and clean technique, it’s easy to see why he’s the Michael Measures 1st prize winner. His delivery was passionate, and handled the changes in mood nicely, with a lovely tone on the 1680 Ruggeri violin from Cremona and Louis Gillet bow he performs on, on loan from Canimex."

The Attacca Quartet performed the U.S. Premiere of David Lang’s "daisy."

Boston Musical Intelligencer: "Attacca played with incredible grace and sensitivity to the music, painting both daisy visions with poignancy and lyricism, giving even the most fleeting dissonance a sense of direction, connection, and resolution, eventually fading into the “nothingness” that suggests a Buddhist state of perfection..."

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