Lisa Batiashvili’s new album “Secret Love Letters” features evocative music inspired by late-Romantic literature and great virtuosos of the past – Karol Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto, Ernest Chausson’s Poème, César Franck’s Sonata in A major for violin and piano and Claude Debussy’s Beau soir.

“What would human life be like,” asks Lisa Batiashvili, “without this range of emotions and feelings which we feel cannot be shared with anyone?” Her new album celebrates the fine art of concealment, of holding private passions just beneath the surface until they erupt. Secret Love Letters sees the violinist explore some of the most romantic music ever written. In this, her first recording with a US orchestra, she is joined by The Philadelphia Orchestra and its inspirational Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin – with whom she has performed live many times – as well as by young Georgian pianist Giorgi Gigashvili. Together they embark on a journey that spans everything from forbidden love to romance seen from the perspective of old age.

“There are so many hidden messages in music, things that cannot be put into words,” notes Lisa. “Something very obvious unites the four pieces I’ve chosen for the album, by Chausson, Debussy, Franck and Szymanowski. It’s the message of love that is there in the music, in many different facets and colours, and so much of that message is secret and intimate.” Her long-time collaborator Nézet-Séguin is on the same wavelength: “One of my favorite quotes in life is that music starts where words stop. What’s so special about music is that it allows us to say things that sometimes we can’t even express to ourselves.”

Tracklist:

CÉSAR FRANCK (1822–1890)

Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major FWV 8

1. Allegretto ben moderato

2. Allegro

3. Recitativo-Fantasia. Ben moderato – Molto lento – a tempo moderato

4. Allegretto poco mosso

KAROL SZYMANOWSKI (1822–1890)

5. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 op. 35

ERNEST CHAUSSON (1855–1899)

6. Poème op. 25 for Violin and Orchestra

CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918)

7. Beau soir