For the Record, Op. 278: Leonidas Kavakos' Bach Violin Concertos

March 30, 2024, 2:20 PM · Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening!

Violinist Leonidas Kavakos.

Bach Violin Concertos
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Members of the ApollOn Ensemble

Having played Bach as a youngster, violinist Leonidas Kavakos stopped performing the composer’s music in public in order to reexamine his relationship with the scores and recalibrate his baroque technique. In 2022, he released a recording of the composer’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, his first release that included music by Bach. Now Kavakos turns to Bach’s four violin concertos - works from the first half of the 18th century. Kavakos wanted to use the smallest possible group of musicians to perform the orchestra part - just five ensemble string players and a harpsichordist. "You couldn’t get more intimate with the music than this," Kavakos said. Using a single instrument for each of the ensemble parts creates "a particular harmonic and rhythmic world that both complements and enhances what everyone else is doing" and "brings an enormous variety and richness to the sound and was a constant inspiration." Having experimented with baroque and classical bows, Kavakos uses a bow modeled on a François Tourte example from the early 1800s, together with his 1734 "Willemotte" Stradivarius. BELOW: Bach's Violin Concerto in E Major, BWV 1042: I. Allegro:

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