Leonidas Kavakos

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. Kavakos has developed close relationships with major orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Kavakos also works closely with the Dresden Staatskapelle, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, as well as the major U.S. orchestras. In recent years, Kavakos has succeeded in building a strong profile as a conductor, leading the New York Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, 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 2023-24 season, Kavakos performed at the opening gala of Carnegie Hall with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti. On the same visit to the U.S., he performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen. Kavakos performed concerts throughout Europe with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and returned to Staatskapelle Berlin, NDR Hamburg, the Bergen Symphony, the Vienna Symphony, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He also conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra in London for the first time, as well as the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Kavakos toured with regular recital partners Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma to concert halls across Europe and the U.S. and returned to China for a series of recitals and performances with the China Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony. He also performed Bach’s Partitas and Sonatas across Europe and Asia, following the release of his critically acclaimed 2022 album Bach: Sei Solo. Kavakos is an exclusive recording artist with Sony Classics. Releases have included the Beethoven Violin Concerto, which he conducted and played with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, 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. Kavakos 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 there that attracts violinists and ensembles from all over the world. He plays the “Willemotte” Stradivarius violin of 1734.