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Leonidas Kavakos (born 1967) is a Greek violinist. He has established himself as one of the most sought after young virtuoso violinists and appears regularly with leading orchestras and in recital throughout the world. Beginnings Born in Athens into a musical family, Kavakos began studying violin at five years old and continued his studies at the Greek National Conservatoire with Stelios Kafantaris. An Onassis Foundation scholarship enabled him to attend master classes with Josef Gingold at Indiana University. He made his concert debut at the Athens Festival in 1984. In 1985, at 18 the youngest contestant, he won the International Sibelius Competition in Helsinki and in 1986 won silver medal in the Indianapolis International Violin Competition. He also took first prizes at the Naumburg Competition in New York (1988) and the Paganini Violin Competition (1988)—all by the age of 21. Performances America His United States debut was in 1986 and, the following year, gave recitals at venues across the country. Kavakos now tours North America annually and works with numerous major orchestras, including the Chicago, and Montreal Symphony Orchestras. Europe In Europe, following his competition win in Helsinki, Kavakos' reputation spread quickly. He now works extensively in major concert halls across the continent, working with world class orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic. He has appeared at festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, where he first appeared in 1994 and the Lucerne Festival. He has appeared throughout the UK with numerous orchestras, starting in 1992 performing the Stravinsky concerto at the London Proms. In 2006 he will participate in Gergiev's festival. Asia Kavakos made a highly successful Japanese debut in 1988 including a recital at Tokyo's Casals Hall and has since toured Japan with the English Chamber Orchestra and given concerts with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and the New Japan Philharmonic. Recordings Having won the Sibelius contest, Kavakos went on to win another coveted distinction, once again working on Sibelius. He won the 1991 Gramophone Concerto of the Year Award for the world premiere release on the BIS label of the Sibelius Violin Concerto in both its final version and in the original 1903/04, version. He has made various other recordings for Delos and Finlandia Records with works by composers such as Debussy, Paganini, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and Wieniawski. Chamber Music Kavakos is also a keen chamber music performer, and presents his own chamber music festival annually in his home town of Athens as well as performing in many international festivals. Trivia Kavakos plays the "Falmouth" Stradivarius of 1692. Links
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