Artist in Residence: Lisa Batiashvili and the Karajan Academy

A glorious, nuanced tone characterises Lisa Batiashvili’s playing, and this is no coincidence. She says: “Many musicians think that beauty of sound is less important than expression. You need that, too. But for me, the sound of the violin – like the human voice – reflects the soul of the musician.” There is no doubt about it: Lisa Batiashvili, who studied under Mark Lubotsky in Hamburg and Ana Chumachenko in Munich, is one of the world’s most acclaimed violinists. She regularly works with orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and she has also been a regular guest with the Berliner Philharmoniker since 2004. The partnership will deepen in the 2023/24 season, when Lisa Batiashvili will appear as the orchestra's Artist in Residence, both as a soloist and in chamber music. The Georgian-born German musician, who received an honorary doctorate from the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts in Helsinki in 2018, established her own Foundation in 2021, committed to supporting young, highly talented musicians from Georgia. Lisa Batiashvili plays a Joseph Guarneri "del Gesu" violin from 1739, and her recordings – among them her latest releases, Secret Love Letters and City Lights - have received prizes such as the Echo Klassik and the Midem Classical Award. Musical America magazine named her "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 2015.