Leonidas Kavakos - Bach: Sei Solo / 2CD set

2022 CD release.

The Greek star violinist Leonidas Kavakos made his concert debut aged 17, in 1984. Only now has he made his first recording of Bach’s six solo sonatas and partitas, mighty monuments of the violin repertoire, traditionally grouped as Sei Solo (Sony). Kavakos’s sound is intense, silken, mercurial – a modern, characterful performance aware of history, playful in its ornamentation, but without exaggeration. The recording is spacious and resonant. His formidable technique makes light of the effortful cross-string chordal passages – in the Sarabande of the B minor Partita, or in the tugging, anguished opening of the vast Chaconne of the D minor (which he ends with), bringing out voices, structure, line.

There are as many ways to perform this music as there are top violinists: from Rachel Podger, matchless in her understanding of period performance, to those aristocratic players of the past – Arthur Grumiaux, Nathan Milstein. In recent months, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Tedi Papavrami and Fabio Biondi have issued sets. There’s no best here: many voices, all worth our attention, but Kavakos’s fire and grace take some beating.

Fiona Maddocks - https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/29/leonidas-kavakos-bach-sei-solo-review-sonatas-partitas-js-bach-cpe-magnificat-gaechinger-cantorey-rademann