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Leonidas Kavakos, violinist

Short Biography

Leonidas Kavakos is one of today’s most sought after virtuoso violinists.

Born in Athens to a musical family, Kavakos began studying violin aged five with his father, continuing his studies at the Greek Conservatory with Stelios Kafantaris. An Onassis Foundation scholarship enabled him to attend master classes with Joseph Gingold at Indiana University, and he made his concert debut at the Athens Festival in 1984.

Kavakos' European reputation spread rapidly after he won both the Sibelius Competition in 1985 and the Paganini competition in 1988. He has now made debuts at many international festivals and played with most of the world’s leading orchestras, working with many celebrated conductors.

An active chamber musician, Kavakos has been the Artistic Director of his own chamber music cycle in the Megaron, Athens since 1992. He also regularly appears at some of the world's foremost chamber music festivals, collaborating with many distinguished partners.

Kavakos’ ability in diverse repertoire is reflected in the exciting projects in which he has been involved and the critical acclaim they have received. These range from the 1991 Gramophone Award-winning world premiere recording of the original version of the Sibelius Concerto (BIS) to a recent release of the Hindemith Concerto (Chandos), CDs of solo sonatas by Ysale and music by Kreisler (BIS), and documentaries on both Korngold (ARTE TV) and Berg (BBC TV).

The 2001-2 season included a number of significant engagements including several international tours, return visits to many European and North American orchestras, debuts with Orchestre de Paris, Toronto Symphony, Maggio Musicale in Florence and recitals in Paris, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

Highlights of the 2002-3 season include debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestra of Europe, as well as tours with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestras and appearances at Carnegie Hall with the Philadelphia Orchestra and in London with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Kavakos plays the "Falmouth" Stradivarius of 1692 and was recently appointed the first ever Principal Guest Artist of the Camerata Salzburg, with whom he performs as both soloist and director.

September 2002/346 words

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