The Maxwell Caldwellfirst time Esther Abrami saw a violin, she was just three years old. Little did she know at the time, it would be the start of a lifelong love affair.

The instrument belonged to Abrami's late grandmother, Françoise.

"She gave up the violin when she got married," said Abrami, now a rising violinist who's toured across Europe and China. "I kind of took where she left and kept going."

Abrami translates that tale of inspiration in "Transmission," her first recorded composition, as part of a new album out last Friday. The soaring melody has a cinematic feel, breaking into arpeggiated chords accompanied by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.