Role

:

Conductor  

Birth

:

October 30, 1967 in Athens, Greece

Genre

:

Chamber

 

 

Concerto

 

Leonidas Kavakos is a renowned Greek violinist and conductor who has established himself as one of the most prominent classical musicians of his generation. Born on October 30, 1967, in Athens, Greece, Kavakos showed an early interest in music and began playing the violin at the age of five. He was born into a family of musicians, with his father being a clarinetist and his mother a pianist. Kavakos received his early musical training from his parents and later studied at the Athens Conservatory with Stelios Kafantaris. At the age of 16, Kavakos won the Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki, Finland, which marked the beginning of his international career. He went on to win several other prestigious competitions, including the Paganini Competition in Genoa, Italy, in 1988, and the Naumburg Competition in New York City in 1985. These victories helped to establish Kavakos as one of the most promising young violinists of his generation. Kavakos made his debut as a soloist with the Athens Symphony Orchestra at the age of 21 and has since performed with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and the London Symphony Orchestra. He has also collaborated with some of the most renowned conductors of our time, including Sir Simon Rattle, Riccardo Chailly, and Christoph Eschenbach. One of Kavakos's most notable performances was his debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1991, where he performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto under the baton of Zubin Mehta. The performance was widely praised by critics, with The New York Times describing Kavakos's playing as "virtuosic and deeply expressive." Kavakos has also performed at some of the world's most prestigious music festivals, including the Salzburg Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, and the BBC Proms. In addition to his career as a soloist, Kavakos is also an accomplished chamber musician and has performed with some of the world's leading ensembles, including the Takács Quartet and the Emerson Quartet. He is also a passionate advocate for contemporary music and has premiered works by several prominent composers, including György Kurtág and Thomas Adès. Kavakos's discography includes over 20 recordings, many of which have received critical acclaim. His recording of the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas with pianist Enrico Pace was awarded the Diapason d'Or and the Gramophone Award for Best Chamber Music Recording in 2013. He has also recorded the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, which was released in 2014 to widespread critical acclaim. In addition to his career as a performer, Kavakos is also an accomplished conductor and has led several major orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Vienna Philharmonic. He has also served as the artistic director of the Camerata Salzburg since 2017. Kavakos has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the Léonie Sonning Music Prize in 2017, which is considered one of the most prestigious music awards in the world. He was also awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 2017, which recognizes outstanding achievement in classical music performance. In 2018, he was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society's Instrumentalist Award, which recognizes the achievements of outstanding instrumentalists in the UK.

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