Pianist Valentina Lisitsa was among the first classical musicians to use an internet video service as a significant method of promoting her career. Her strategy was successful: in the 2010s decade she was signed to the major label Decca and has been a fixture in its stable of artists. Lisitsa was born in Kiev, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, on March 25, 1973. She took up the piano at three and was giving concerts within a year, but for a time she hoped to become a professional chess player. Lisitsa attended the Lysenko School of Music in Kiev and then enrolled at the Kiev Conservatory, studying with Ludmilla Tsvierko. There she met pianist Alexei Kuznetsoff, and the pair began performing as duo pianists. They won the Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami in 1991 and moved to the U.S., settling in North Carolina.

This new showpiece in the Collection Diotima, in which the eponymous quartet devotes itself to monographies of contemporary composers, offers here a triple line-up of some of the foremost composers of their generation: this album is a living image of serious music today, which in this 21st Century has focused on exploring the multifaceted realm of sound. Stefano Gervasoni (b. Italy, 1962), Gérard Pesson (b. France, 1958) and Enno Poppe (b. Germany, 1969) has each, in his own way, renewed the tradition and technique of writing for the string quartet.

The Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, Havanaise, the finale of the Concerto No. 3, and the Romance, Op. 48: these pieces composed between 1859 and 1887 are - justifiably - among the most celebrated works composed by Saint-Saëns.

Le sicilien a plus d’une corde à son archet. Violoniste, soliste précoce et chef d’orchestre, Fabio Biondi est une véritable star du violon baroque. Après une formation classique dès son enfance, il se dirige rapidement vers les répertoires anciens. Il enchaîne ses premiers concerts en tant que soliste. Agé seulement de seize ans, le jeune violoniste est invité à jouer en soliste les concertos de Bach à la Musikvereine. Très attiré par le violon baroque, il collabore alors avec les prestigieuses formations de Marc Minkowski, Philippe Herreweghe, Gérard Lesne ou encore Jordi Savall. Il créé d’abord le Quatuor Stendhal en 1981, devient professeur au Conservatoire de Parme et en 1990, Biondi créé son propre orchestre qu’il dirige de son violon. L’Europa Galante composé d’une quinzaine de musiciens révolutionne l’approche de la musique baroque en s’attachant toujours à la quintessence de l’œuvre. Si Vivaldi est le cœur de ses recherches et interprétations, le violoniste a pour ambition de faire revivre l’ensemble du répertoire italien baroque : Scarlatti, Tartini, Caldara, et bien d’autres. Son ensemble aux interprétations toujours dynamiques est présent dans de prestigieuses salles sur tous les continents. Il acquiert une réputation internationale et est appelé à diriger de nombreux orchestres parmi lesquels l’Opéra de Nice, l’Orchestre de chambre de Zurich ou encore le Mahler Chamber Orchestra.