Old World Archive

Kavakos, v. – Virtuoso = Works of Tarrega, Paganini, Falla, Stravinsky, Sarasate, Elgar, Etc.

by Audiophile Audition | Aug 30, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

True virtuoso fiddle-playing! “Kavakos – Virtuoso” = STRAVINSKY: Danse russe; Chanson russe; SARASATE: Caprice basque; Romanza andaluza; TARREGA: Recuerdos de la Alhambra; FALLA: Danza del molinera; PAGANINI: Introduction and Variations on “Nel cor piu non mi sento”; Variations on “God Save the King”; WIENIAWSKI: Caprice-valse; R. STRAUSS: Waltzes from Der Rosenkavalier (arr. Prihoda); DOHNANYI: Gypsy Andante; BRITTEN: Reveille; ELGAR: La Capricieuse; TCHAIKOVSKY: Valse sentimentale; DVORAK: Humoresque – Leonidas Kavakos, v./ Enrico Pace, p. – Decca 478 9377, 78:47 (5/8/16) [Distr. by Universal] ****:  Recorded in Athens 28-31 May 2015, this program celebrates the bravura art of the virtuoso encore in the European tradition, an art that several contemporary instrumentalists – especially Leonidas Kavakos – have decided to reinvigorate. Kavakos plays the Abergavenny Stradivarius of 1724, an instrument quite capable of projecting a vivid, piercing range of tone, including the fearsome four-note chords that transform a piece like the opening Danse russe of Stravinsky into a ‘symphonic’ experience. If Kavakos’ passionate gypsy-classical style approaches that of any of the old masters, it is likely Huberman. The two Paganini works demand left-hand pizzicato, three- and four-note chords, tremolo, staccato, ricochet bowing, duets between melody and left-hand pizzicato accompaniment. Considerable hazards abound, and […]