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Brahms Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major – Movement I (excerpt)
Leonidas Kavakos and Daniil Trifonov – Stravinsky, Italian Suite
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“The playing is the thing, and it is ­spectacular. ­Kavakos’ virtuosity is stunning but not showy. He tosses off the most hair-raising ­pyrotechnics and sound effects…with ease and relish.”

Strings

“Playing from memory, Kavakos cleared one hazard after another in Shostakovich’s stupendously original score. He didn’t just spin legato lines in the searching, conversational Nocturne; he expounded entire legato paragraphs in an eloquent, unbroken stream of consciousness. Shredding his way through the Scherzo, his tone was poised, even lavish. Where some violinists convey a sense of anguish in demanding passages — playing two melodies in duet or an endless seesaw of double stops — he sounded effortless. Even his harmonics had a juicy ping.”

The New York Times

“Kavakos ranks among the greatest ­instrumentalists of our time.”

Seattle Times

“With a big, rich, gleaming tone, Kavakos had all the ardor and virtuosity one could wish…”

Dallas Morning News

“Kavakos’ violin playing has always been astoundingly ­virtuosic and blazingly ­insightful… I’m happy to admit Kavakos to the pantheon of musician-philosophers.”

The Guardian

“The highlight of the afternoon was Bartók’s ­Second ­Violin Concerto, which got a ­masterful ­performance from the Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos. His ­technique is immaculate: he ­navigated all of the concerto’s virtuoso hurdles without too much apparent effort. Even more impressive were the lucid, singing tone of his playing and his elegant phrasing.”

Boston Globe

“In a striking and original interpretation of the ­Sibelius Violin Concerto with the San Francisco ­Symphony, ­Kavakos stripped this extravagant work of all ­indulgences to deliver a lean, ­purposeful, and deeply ­absorbing ­performance.  The sense that something ­different was about to happen was apparent right away.  From a ­quietly insistent opening phrase to an early ­cadenza, Kavakos staked out his territory with a woody, fibrous tone – reminiscent of a fine baritone’s probing, amber-toned voice – that seemed to stride into the score instead of sailing across its swooping surfaces.”

San Francisco Classical Voice

“…time and time again, he juiced out rivulets of sound from just a couple inches of bow. Like any Brahms interpretation worth its salt, his performance leaned into the work’s inherent narrativity. In the first movement, he wound out of the finger-tying cadenza with genial windedness, as though acknowledging the hugeness of the disclosure just before.”

Chicago Tribune

Leonidas Kavakos is recognized across the world as a violinist and artist of rare quality, acclaimed for his matchless technique, his captivating artistry and his superb musicianship, and the integrity of his playing. He works regularly with the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors and appears in recital at the world’s premier halls and festivals. In recent years, Kavakos has built a strong profile as a conductor and has conducted such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Vienna Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and Filarmonica della Scala.

Highlights of the 24/25 season in North America include a recital tour performing Bach’s complete Sonatas and Partitas, and recitals with Daniil Trifonov. Kavakos makes his debut in Mexico with the Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM; and appears as guest soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Palm Beach Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, as well as play-conducts with the New World Symphony. Elsewhere, he takes his ApollΩn Ensemble on tour to Asia with concerts in Macau, Daegu, Tokyo, and Taipei. Kavakos returns to the Filarmonica della Scala, Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, NDR Hamburg, DSO Berlin, Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Danish National Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony, and conducts the Israel Philharmonic. He continues his partnership with Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma in trio concerts at major European venues, as well as performs in recital across Spain, Italy, and London. In 2025, Kavakos will be the new Artistic Director of the classical music festival of the Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, Korea.

Kavakos is an exclusive recording artist with Sony Classics. Releases have included Bach: Sei Solo, Beethoven Violin Concerto which he conducted and played with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and the re-release of his 2007 recording of the complete Beethoven Sonatas with Enrico Pace, for which he was named ECHO Klassik Instrumentalist of the year. In 2022 Kavakos released Beethoven for Three: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5 arranged for trio, with Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma. The second album from this series included Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral” and was released in November 2022, with further recordings planned in the coming years. With his chamber group the ApollΩn Ensemble, Kavakos recently released Bach: Violin Concertos to critical acclaim. Kavakos was named Gramophone Artist of the Year.

Born and raised in a musical family in Athens, Leonidas Kavakos curates an annual violin and chamber music masterclass in Athens, which attracts violinists and ensembles from all over the world. In 2022, he was declared a regular member of the Chair of Music in the Second Class of Letters and Fine Arts for his services to music. Kavakos plays the ‘Willemotte’ Stradivarius violin of 1734.

OCTOBER 2024