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Leonidas Kavakos

Violin, Conductor

  • 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 plays as recitalist in the world’s premier recital halls and festivals.

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  • 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, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Munich Philharmonic, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, as well as the major US Orchestras.


    In recent years, Kavakos has succeeded in building a strong profile as a conductor and has conducted the New York Philharmonic, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Dallas Symphony, Vienna Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Filarmonica della Scala, and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Most recently he had a great success conducting the Israel Philharmonic, to which he will return.


    In the 23/24 season, Kavakos performs at the opening gala of Carnegie Hall with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti. On the same visit to the US he will also perform with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen. Kavakos will perform a number of concerts throughout Europe with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, as well as return to Staatskapelle Berlin, NDR Hamburg, the Bergen Symphony, the Vienna Symphony, and the Boston Symphony. He also conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in London for the first time, as well as the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Kavakos will tour with regular recital partners Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma to concert halls across Europe and the US, and will return to China for a series of recitals and performances with the China Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony. He will also perform Bach’s Partitas and Sonatas across Europe and Asia, following the release of his critically acclaimed album ‘Bach: Sei Solo’ in 2022.


    Kavakos is an exclusive recording artist with Sony Classics. Releases have included the 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: Symphony No. 6 “Pastorale” and Op.1, No. 3’ arranged for trio, with Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma. Further albums from this series containing arrangements of Beethoven Symphonies will be released in coming years. He has been Gramophone Magazine Artist of the Year.


    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.

    2023-2024 season / 485 words. Not to be altered without permission.
    Please include links to www.leonidaskavakos.com and www.facebook.com/leonidas.kavakos.violin in all printed and digital use of biography.

Performances

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Orchestral highlights

Vienna Philharmonic / Chailly, Eschenbach


Vienna Symphony / Afkham, Jurowski


Bayerische Rundfunk / Jansons


Berliner Philharmoniker / Rattle, Mehta


Gewandhausorchester Leipzig / Bringuier, Chailly, Blomstedt


Munich Philharmonic / Denève, Gergiev


WDR Symphony Orchestra / Saraste


Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Gatti, Gergiev, Jansons


London Symphony Orchestra / Rattle, Harding


London Philharmonic Orchestra / Jurowski


Orchestre de Paris / Temirkanov, Järvi


Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Stenz


Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia / Gergiev


Filarmonica della Scala / Chailly, Harding


Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra / Gergiev


Boston Symphony Orchestra / Nelsons, Denève


The Cleveland Orchestra / Noseda


New York Philharmonic / Gilbert, Haitink


Philadelphia Orchestra / Nézet-Séguin


San Francisco Symphony / Tilson-Thomas

Conducting highlights

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Bamberg Symphony
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Gürzenich Orchestra
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
New York Philharmonic
Boston Symphony Orchestra
National Symphony Orchestra
Houston Symphony

The compassion he infused into the score, his repartee with the players, and his unabated energy showed him an étoile of the first order.

Bachtrack, September 2019

Technically, he was faultless, as one might expect, but what was really so remarkable about his playing here was the way he made the music breathe and sing in lyrical, expansive paragraphs while remaining continuously alert both to subtleties of meaning and absolute directness of expression

Guardian, August, 2017

This is playing that sorts out the men from the boys. I doubt if there is more than a handful of violinists alive who can match Kavakos in the tonal variety, accuracy and speed of his harmonics, or in the deft alternation of bowing and left-hand pizzicato. In fact, I wonder if Paganini would have equalled him.

Gramophone, May 2016

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Intermusica represents Leonidas Kavakos worldwide

Stephen Lumsden
Chief Executive
+44 20 7608 9900

Leyla Güneş
Deputy Head of Artist Management
+44 20 7608 9927
lgunes@intermusica.com

Nicola Friemel
Senior Artist Manager
+44 20 7608 9941
nfriemel@intermusica.com

Jess Chan
Associate Artist Manager
+44 20 7608 9908
jchan@intermusica.com

All artists

Chansonnier

HK Gruber

Counter-tenor

Tim Mead

Harpsichord

Richard Egarr

Piano accompanist

Roger Vignoles

Saxophone

Jess Gillam

Contralto

Avery Amereau