Leonidas Kavakos

Kavakos has developed close relationships with major orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Kavakos also works closely with the Dresden Staatskapelle, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich Philharmonic and Budapest Festival orchestras, Orchestre de Paris, Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala.

In recent years, Kavakos has succeeded in building a strong profile as a conductor and has conducted the New York Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Gürzenich Orchester,  Vienna Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Filarmonica Teatro La Fenice, and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.

In the current 21/22 season, Leonidas Kavakos is honoured as Perspectives Artist at Carnegie Hall in New York where he performs a range of concerts with leading US orchestras, in recital with Yuja Wang and in a trio programme with regular partners Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma.  He is also Resident Artist at Radio France in Paris, performing as soloist and conducting the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Orchestre National de France.  Kavakos also opens the Royal Concertgebouworkest season in Amsterdam with an outdoor concert, premieres a new concerto written for him by leading Korean composer Unsuk Chin with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle which is also premiered in the US by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons and with the same conductor in Germany with the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester.  He has two extensive visits to Asia including a return to the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Herbert Blomstedt together with a performance of the three Brahms Sonatas at Tokyo Opera City.  He will also conduct the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time.

Kavakos is an exclusive recording artist with Sony Classics. Recent releases from the Beethoven 250th Anniversary year include the Beethoven Violin Concerto which he conducted and played with the Bavarian Radio Symphony, 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.  This season, Sony Classical will release his eagerly awaited recording of the complete set of Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin.

Born and brought up in a musical family in Athens, Kavakos curates an annual violin and chamber-music masterclass in Athens, which attracts violinists and ensembles from all over the world. He plays the ‘Willemotte’ Stradivarius violin of 1734.

2021-2022 season / 455 words. Not to be altered without permission.
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