Sunday 7 October 2007

Bit disappointed with Lisa Batiashvili's first mainline commercial CD. She plays marvellously, of course. But the balance in the Sibelius concerto (live) has a rather dim orchestra for most of the time, and the violinist too forward. If you adjust the balance so you can hear the start of the work, you are blown out of your seat later on! I now have 52 (!) recordings of this over-recorded work, and the shelves are just too competitive for flawed versions.
The coupling, Magnus Lindberg's much-praised concerto, just left me cold, I'm afraid. Kept looking at my watch. Ridiculous booklet treats Batiashvili like a pop star, with nine posed photos of her! Admittedly, she is pretty; but why no photo of Sibelius, who is just a little more important?

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