A Bach gem, years in the making
Leonidas Kavakos
Bach: Violin Concertos
Sony, out now
★★★★★
The Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos is thought to be the most searching interpreter of the music he plays. Now in his mid-50s, I first encountered Kavakos 25 years ago. I try to keep up with his work, but he records sparingly, and doesn’t come to London that often.
But I have never been disappointed in anything I have heard him play, and this new recording of Bach’s four violin concertos and Air, the second movement of his Orchestral Suite No3, is very special. For Kavakos, learning the notes is the beginning, not the end, of the process of delivering performances as searching as any you will ever encounter. Before making these particular recordings, Kavakos spent years deciding which bows to use, and what manner of ensemble works best in presenting the music.
After much internal debate, he finally concluded that a single instrument per part was the way to go. So, accompanied by the Apollo Ensemble, Kavakos makes, in effect, a septet, performing some of the most memorable melodies even
Bach ever created. Two of the concertos exist in their original form for violin and strings, the other two are reworked from the versions for keyboard. The Air is especially beautiful as presented here.
Never sentimental, as in many performances, Kavakos describes its enchanting bass line as ‘creating a divine promenade, carrying us to the place where every human soul would love to be’. A bit over the top? Listen and you won’t think so.
An exceptional recording, not to be missed.