Brahms: Violin Sonatas

Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos teams up with star pianist Yuja Wang to display their special affinity with Brahms, recording the three Violin Sonatas for Decca. With Kavakos known for his “impeccable technique [and] sweet sound” (Daily Telegraph) and Yuja Wang described as “a prodigious talent, with an astonishing technique” (Guardian), this winning collaboration brings together two artists whose extraordinary musical rapport is heard at its finest in these life enhancing works. Kavakos has been performing Brahms extensively over the last few years, developing a unique understanding of the composer’s works. He supported his highly rated recording of the Violin Concerto with live performances in London, Paris, Leipzig and Vienna with Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Riccardo Chailly, winning rave reviews everywhere. In April and May, he gives further performances in Berne, Geneva, Warsaw and Vilnius. Yuja Wang is a former Gramophone “Young Artist of the Year”. When she joined Kavakos to play the Brahms sonatas at the Verbier Festival in summer 2013, the special relationship between these two incredible artists was clear to all in highly atmospheric concerts received by capacity audiences and broadcast by medici.tv. Brahms was a scrupulous craftsman whose deep and thoughtful work is nowhere better captured than in these three violin sonatas, written for the composer’s muse, Joseph Joachim (who also gave the premiere of the Violin Concerto and contributed its cadenzas). The musical worth of the sonatas is fully realized in these superb recordings and there is a bonus track: the F-A-E Scherzo which Brahms contributed to a composite sonata (along with his friends Schumann and Dietrich).This is Leonidas Kavakos’s third release for Decca. His debut recording, the Beethoven Violin Sonatas released in January 2013, prompted the Daily Mail to say: “He isn’t just an exceptional violinist, he is also an excellent musician . . . [he] offers absorbing listening. His classical style is impeccable.”Kavakos and Wang are close recital partners and toured Italy together with the Brahms sonatas in November and December 2013, playing concerts in Rome, Florence, Milan, Ferrara and Naples. 1. Scherzo from ‘F-A-E’ Sonata Violin Sonata No 1 in G major, Op.78 2. I. Vivace ma non troppo 3. II. Adagio 4. III. Allegro molto moderato Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op.100 5. I. Allegro amabile 6. II. Andante tranquillo – Vivace – Andante – Vivace di più – Andante - Vivace 7. III. Allegretto grazioso (quasi Andante) Violin Sonata No 3 in D minor, Op. 108 8. I. Allegro 9. II. Adagio 10. III. Un poco presto e con sentiment 11. IV. Presto agitato 12. Wiegenlied: Lullaby