Bach: Sei Solo Leonidas Kavakos

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006:
• 1Bach: Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006: I. Preludio03:42
• 2Bach: Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006: II. Loure04:28
• 3Bach: Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006: III. Gavotte en Rondeau02:59
• 4Bach: Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006: IV. Menuet I - Menuet II04:45
• 5Bach: Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006: V. Bourrée01:27
• 6Bach: Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006: VI. Gigue01:57
• Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005:
• 7Bach: Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005: I. Adagio04:53
• 8Bach: Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005: II. Fuga10:36
• 9Bach: Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005: III. Largo03:33
• 10Bach: Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005: IV. Allegro assai05:36
• Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003:
• 11Bach: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: I. Grave03:57
• 12Bach: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: II. Fuga08:01
• 13Bach: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: III. Andante05:57
• 14Bach: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: IV. Allegro06:25
• Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001:
• 15Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: I. Adagio03:47
• 16Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: II. Fuga05:20
• 17Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: III. Siciliana02:58
• 18Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: IV. Presto04:12
• Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor BWV 1002:
• 19Bach: Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor BWV 1002: I. Allemanda05:41
• 20Bach: Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor BWV 1002: II. Double03:37
• 21Bach: Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor BWV 1002: III. Corrente03:39
• 22Bach: Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor BWV 1002: IV. Double03:29
• 23Bach: Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor BWV 1002: V. Sarabande03:59
• 24Bach: Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor BWV 1002: VI. Double03:16
• 25Bach: Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor BWV 1002: VII. Tempo di Borea03:26
• 26Bach: Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor BWV 1002: VIII. Double03:27
• Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004:
• 27Bach: Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004: I. Allemanda04:53
• 28Bach: Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004: II. Corrente02:31
• 29Bach: Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004: III. Sarabanda03:48
• 30Bach: Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004: IV. Giga04:05
• 31Bach: Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004: V. Ciaccona14:52
• Total Runtime02:25:16

Info for Bach: Sei Solo

Ever-restless, ever-questioning and consistently captivating, Leonidas Kavakos, “the violinist’s violinist” (The Strad), is recognized as one of the greatest musicians alive. An exclusive Sony Classical artist since 2018, Kavakos now stands ready to release his most significant recording yet – his first account of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. Titled Bach – Sei Solo, the double album is set for release on February 4, 2022 with two singles – Partita for Solo Violin No. 3, Loure and Sonata for Solo Violin No. 1, Adagio – available now.

The recording also includes the famous Chaconne in D minor from the Partita No. 2, considered by many to be Bach’s single greatest span of music. Like many of his coevals, Bach could create great structures in sound, making use of the full panoply of choir, orchestra, and soloists. However, he was unique in his ability to conjure similar architectural marvels out of a single instrument. Bach titled his set Sei Solo – both a description of the work itself (“six solos”) and a reminder of the challenge to the player: “you are alone.”

Leonidas Kavakos tackles that challenge and “keeps a firm grip on the rhythm, but one never gets the feeling that he is merely metronomic. Indeed, in the Double of the Courante, he wrestles the flood of notes into long, well-formed phrases, establishing a structure of impressive breadth and integrity…every line seems sharply etched, and Kavakos takes unusual care to balance the voices,” notes Gramophone.

“Harmony’s rhythm and rhythm’s harmony are decisive assistants towards achieving the divine aspect of existence,” says Kavakos and continues “’Wir danken dir, Gott (We thank you, God)’ is the title of Bach’s Cantata No. 29, the opening Sinfonia of which is a transcription for organ and orchestra of the Preludio from Partita No. 3. It could equally well serve as the title for all six sonatas and partitas, an opus consisting of two triads which, through the peerless swirling of the great Thomas cantor’s compositions, enlighten the individual responsibility of existence (“SeiSolo”), a vital component of collective Spacetime!”

Kavakos’s account of Bach’s scores, which have been interpreted by every major violinist throughout history, will be a major moment in his career. The album was recorded in December 2020 in Berlin, with Kavakos playing his 1734 ‘Willemotte’ Stradivarius.

Kavakos is a laureate of the great violin competitions and a visitor to the great orchestras of the world – as both violinist and conductor. In 2017 he joined the likes of Shostakovich, Rostropovich and Rubinstein as a laureate of the Sonning Music Prize.

“Kavakos’ tone has the character of striking high-grade silver sinew, ever beautiful, graceful and unbreakable” (Los Angeles Times)

Leonidas Kavakos, violin

Leonidas Kavakos
is recognised across the world as a violinist and artist of rare quality, acclaimed for his matchless technique, his captivating artistry and his superb musicianship as well as for the integrity of his playing. He works with the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors and plays as recitalist in the world’s premier recital halls and festivals. He is an exclusive recording artist with Sony Classical.

The three important mentors in his life have been Stelios Kafantaris, Josef Gingold, and Ferenc Rados, with whom he still works. By the age of 21, Leonidas Kavakos had already won three major competitions: the Sibelius Competition in 1985, and the Paganini and Naumburg competitions in 1988. This success led to him recording the original Sibelius Violin Concerto (1903/4), the first recording of this work in history, and which won Gramophone Concerto of the Year Award in 1991.

Kavakos is now an exclusive recording artist with Sony Classics. His latest recording, to be released worldwide in October 2019 in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth in 2020, is the Beethoven Concerto which he conducted and played with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, coupled with the Beethoven Septet played with members of the orchestra. In the anniversary year, Kavakos will both play and play/conduct the Beethoven concerto with orchestras across Europe and the USA. He will also play the complete Beethoven Sonata cycle in Shanghai and Guangzhou, Milan and Rome, and a number of single Beethoven recitals in various cities including London’s Wigmore Hall, Barcelona, Parma and Copenhagen.

In 2007, for his recording of the complete Beethoven Sonatas with Enrico Pace, Kavakos was named Echo Klassik Instrumentalist of the year. In 2014, Kavakos was awarded Gramophone Artist of the Year.

Further accolades came in 2017 when Kavakos was awarded the prestigious Leonie Sonning Prize – Denmark’s highest musical honour, given annually to an internationally recognised composer, condcutor, instrumentalist or singer. Previous winners include Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Alfred Brendel, Benjamin Britten, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Simon Rattle, Mstislav Rostropovich, Arthur Rubenstein and Dmitri Shostakovich.

August 2019 was a full and rewarding month: after the Verbier Festival where he appeared in recital with Evgent Kissin and conducted the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in a programme in which he played Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Antoine Tamestit, he joined YoYo Ma and Emanuel Ax at the Tanglewood Music Festival for a programme of Beethoven Piano trios, in a duo recital with Ax of Beethoven Sonatas, and in an orchestral concert with the Boston Symphony in which he played and conducted Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Dvorak Symphony No. 7.

Kavakos was also invited as “Artiste Etoile” at the Lucerne Festival where he appeared with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra with Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Mariinsky Orchestra with Valery Gergiev, Vienna Philharmonic with Andes Orozco Estrada, and in recital with Yuja Wang.

In the 2019/20 season, in addition to concerts with major orchestras in Europe and the United States, Leonidas Kavakos will one again join YoYo Ma and Emanuel Ax for three programmes in Carngie Hall comprising Beethoven trios and sonatas. He will undertake two Asian tours, first as soloist with the Singapore Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic and in recital in the NCPA Beijing, and then in the spring he performs with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, prior to playing Beethoven Sonata Cycles in Shanghai and Guangzhou with Enrico Pace.

In recent year, Leonidas Kavakos has succeeded in building a strong profile as a conductor and has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Gürzenich Orchester, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Filarmonica Teatro La Fenice, and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. In the forthcoming season he will return to two orchestra where he has developed close ties as both violinist and condcutor: L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. This season he also play/conducts theCzech Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI.

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 and reflects his deep commitment to the handing on of musical knowledge and traditions. Part of this tradition is the art of violin and bow-making, which Kavakos regards as a great mystery and to this day, an undisclosed secret. He plays the ‘Willemotte’ Stradivarius violin of 1734 and owns modern violins made by F. Leonhard, S.P. Greiner, E. Haahti and D. Bagué.

Booklet for Bach: Sei Solo