Daniel Lozakovich JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Partita No. 2

Debut album by the next young and talented violinist on Deutsche Grammophon, following the successful footsteps of Anne-Sophie Mutter and David Garrett who both joined the label as youngsters.

The youngest musician currently signed to Deutsche Grammophon (born in 2001).

Daniel Lozakovich is a mature core-classic artist and young sports fan at the same time.

Multi-award winner, including the 1st prize at the 2016 Vladimir Spivakov International Violin Competition.

Praised by audiences and critics alike (Lozakovich is destined for a prodigious career).

Many supporters, including Valery Gergiev, Martin Engstroem, Daniel Hope, Andris Nelsons, Daniel Barenboim, Renaud Capuçon. (Presto Classical)

Already the winner of many awards for young musicians and at 17 the youngest artist on Deutsche Grammophon's roster, Swedish violinist Daniel Lozakovich already enjoys an impressive performance schedule as a young soloist with orchestras and conductors worldwide. He is also a regular performer at multiple international music festivals. In his debut album for Deutsche Grammophon, Daniel presents Bach’s two violin concertos in collaboration with the Kammerorchester des Symphonieorchesters des Bayerischen Rundfunks together with the solo Partita No. 2, which includes the famous Chaconne. (Deutsche Grammophon)

Lisa Batiashvili BACH

While violinist Lisa Batiashvili has recorded mostly Romantic and modernist music, she has chosen to perform works by J.S. Bach for her third album on Deutsche Grammophon, signaling an expansion of a repertoire that is already quite varied. Even the selections on this 2014 release show a preference for a mix of pieces, with only the Violin Concerto in E major, the solo Violin Sonata in A minor, and the Sinfonia from the cantata Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe to showcase her talents as soloist. The rest of her program features her husband, oboist François Leleux, in the Double Concerto for violin and oboe in C minor, and the aria from the St. Matthew Passion, Erbarme dich, mein Gott, which he plays on oboe d'amore; and the Trio for flute, violin, and continuo in B minor by C.P.E. Bach, with flutist Emmanuel Pahud. Batiashvili generously shares the spotlight with these musicians, and their inclusion gives the whole CD an enjoyable feeling of conversation and flexibility of approach, which a straight run of violin concertos would have lacked. One drawback is the sound of the recording, which is echoic and a little indistinct, due to the resonant acoustics of the venues. Otherwise, this is a vibrant and appealing mainstream presentation of Bach that shows Batiashvili and her colleagues in a positive light. (Blair Sanderson)

For her first Bach recording, Lisa Batiashvili has chosen [a program] to demonstrate her refined musicianship and technical skills in a range of contexts, as well as her good taste. In the concertos' quick movements she offers a sweet, light tone and clearly but gently detailed articulation, using vibrato only when there seems good reason to . . . slow movements are more openly expressive, with Batiashvili at one moment playing out with controlled gorgeousness, the next retreating into rapt and intimate pianissimo. The sonata really shows her at her best, with effortless mastery lending an unusual sense of easeful calm to the music while still contributing towards a fiery Fuga and a delicate and loving Andante. This is fine playing indeed . . . a disc full of classy music-making. (Lindsay Kemp / Gramophone Awards Issue)

Lisa Batiashvili BACH

For her first Bach recording, Lisa Batiashvili has chosen not to run through all the concertos or the solo violin works but to be selective, choosing the E major Concerto, the A minor Sonata and the Violin and Oboe Concerto (with husband François Leleux), and adding in a concerto movement from a cantata and an arrangement of ‘Erbarme dich’ in which Leleux’s oboe d’amore takes the contralto’s place. For good measure there is a trio sonata for flute and violin by CPE Bach in his 300th anniversary year. No one could call it a lazily made programme, though whether it is one that really hangs together is a little questionable.

What it does do is allow Batiashvili to demonstrate her refined musicianship and technical skills in a range of contexts, as well as her good taste. In the concertos’ quick movements she offers a sweet, light tone and clearly but gently detailed articulation, using vibrato only when there seems good reason to. You sense a self-effacing and meticulous politeness between the performers here, as if no one wants to stand on anyone else’s toes, but slow movements are more openly expressive, with Batiashvili at one moment playing out with controlled gorgeousness, the next retreating into rapt and intimate pianissimo. The sonata really shows her at her best, with effortless mastery lending an unusual sense of easeful calm to the music while still contributing towards a fiery Fuga and a delicate and loving Andante. This is fine playing indeed.

The CPE Bach is an odd choice, more at the JS end of his style and not among his most interesting works, though more varied articulation from Pahud might have made it more so. Never mind – this is still a disc full of classy music-making.