Leonidas Kavakos
Leonidas Kavakos ( Greek Λεωνίδας Καβάκος , born October 30, 1967 in Athens , Greece ) is a Greek violinist and conductor .
Life
Kavakos began his musical education at the age of five and continued it at the Greek Conservatory of Music in Athens with Stelios Kafantaris. A scholarship from the Alexander Onassis Foundation enabled him to continue studying at Indiana University (USA) with Josef Gingold .
In 2001 Kavakos became principal guest artist of the Camerata Salzburg and from 2007 to 2009 he was their musical director .
In addition to his lively international concert activities, Leonidas Kavakos is a chamber music soloist and director of his own music festival in Megaro Mousikis, Athens .
Leonidas Kavakos first played the Falmouth Stradivarius from 1692 and a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini from 1782 (Turin). Since February 2010 Kavakos has been playing the Abergavenny Stradivarius from 1724 as well as the violins of the modern violin makers David Bagué , Stefan-Peter Greiner and Florian Leonhart .
Competitions won
- 1985: International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition , Helsinki
- 1988: Naumburg Competition , New York
- 1988: Premio Paganini violin competition , Genoa
Recordings
- 1991 Jean Sibelius, violin concerto; published and original version. Lahti Symphony, Osmo Vänskä. BIS Gramophone "Record of the Year" and "Best Concerto Recording" Classic CDs "Pick of the Year"
- 1994 Jean Sibelius, Humoresken 1-6. City of Espoo Chamber Orchestra, Lamminmäki. Finland
- 1999 Eugene Ysaÿe, 6 Sonatas op.27.BIS
- 1996 Niccolò Paganini, 24 caprices. Dynamic
- 2001 Paul Hindemith, violin concerto. BBC Philharmonic, Yan-Pascal Tortelier. Chandos
- 2005 Ravel / Enescu, violin sonata. Peter Nagy (piano). Japan (Megaphone Import Service)
- 2006 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, violin concertos. Camerata Salzburg. Sony Classical
- 2008 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, violin concertos. Camerata Salzburg. Sony Classical
- 2013 Johannes Brahms, violin concerto. Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly. Decca
- 2014 Johannes Brahms, violin sonatas. Yuja Wang (piano). Decca
- 2015 Dmitri Shostakovich, Violin Concerto No. 1. Mariinsky Orchestra Saint Petersburg, Valeri Gergiev. Mariinsky
Web links
- Official website
- Sound carrier by Leōnidas Kabakos in the catalog of the German National Library
- Biography (English)
- Kavakos in an interview at KlassikAkzente
- Camerata Salzburg
- Biography (german)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biographical entry at Decca Classics (English)
- ↑ Martin Zinggl: A feeling for beauty. (The Spanish violin maker David Bagué explains how he gives his instruments a soul) . In: Wiener Zeitung Extra , 14./15. June 2014, pp. 34–35
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Kavakos, Leonidas |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Καβάκος, Λεωνίδας (Greek) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek violinist and conductor |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 30, 1967 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Athens , Greece |