“The concerto opens with a long, high solo line against a glassy background of high stings. Parallels with the Sibelius concerto are stark, even thematically (the way the line circles around a central tone). There are Sibelian parallels to the orchestral scoring, too, with woodwind in parallel as a unit. But Lindberg’s space is different: more volatile. And with that volatility comes a different kind of curiosity, agile, angular, one that Lisa Batiashvili has completely embraced. This was a commanding performance from first to last, replete with lyricism and virtuosity.”

Seen and Heard International

“The work opens with a very high and soft solo over quiet orchestral strings, like a distant summons from above, a beguiling reverie. Soon livelier dance figures come in, and the invention rarely lets up thereafter. Harmonies seductive and rebarbative succeed each other, musical gestures shared between soloist and orchestral players. The pair of horns is especially prominent, whether poetically evoking woodland pastoral or calling heroically to action. The soloist rarely gets a pause, so the 25-minute span is demanding enough. Lisa Batiashvili was equal to all the work’s demands right up to a show-stopping cadenza of coruscating brilliance.”

Bachtrack