Beethoven for Three

Leonidas Kavakos is recognized across the world as a violinist and artist of rare quality, acclaimed for his matchless technique, his captivating artistry and his superb musicianship, and the integrity of his playing. He works regularly with the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors and plays as recitalist in the world’s premier halls and festivals. In the 23/24 season, Kavakos is honored as guest soloist at Carnegie Hall’s Opening Night Gala with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti, as well as soloist at the CSO’s own Symphony Ball during its opening week. He will join the orchestra again for Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in November. Other US engagements include performances with the Boston Symphony and San Francisco Symphony, and a series of recitals with his regular partners Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma. Kavakos will perform a number of concerts throughout Europe including with the Wiener Symphoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Berlin, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony; and will play-conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. He will also conduct the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Kavakos is an exclusive recording artist with Sony Classics. Recent releases include Bach: Sei Solo and the re-release of his 2007 recording of the complete Beethoven Sonatas with Enrico Pace, for which he was named Echo Klassik Instrumentalist of the year. In 2022 Kavakos released Beethoven for Three: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5 arranged for trio, with Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma.The trio has released two additional Beethoven recordings in the series with further recordings planned for upcoming seasons. Born and brought up in a musical family in Athens, Kavakos curates an annual violin and chamber music masterclass in Athens, which attracts violinists and ensembles from all over the world. He plays the ‘Willemotte’ Stradivarius violin of 1734.

Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works for cello, bringing communities together to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity. Most recently, Yo-Yo began Our Common Nature, a cultural journey to celebrate the ways that nature can reunite us in pursuit of a shared future. Our Common Nature follows the Bach Project, a 36-community, six-continent tour of J. S. Bach’s cello suites paired with local cultural programming. Both endeavors reflect Yo-Yo’s lifelong commitment to stretching the boundaries of genre and tradition to understand how music helps us to imagine and build a stronger society. Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris, where he began studying the cello with his father at age four. When he was seven, he moved with his family to New York City, where he continued his cello studies before pursuing a liberal arts education. Yo-Yo has recorded more than 120 albums, is the winner of 19 Grammy Awards, and has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden’s inauguration. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of the Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize. He has been a UN Messenger of Peace since 2006, and was recognized as one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

Violist Antoine Tamestit is internationally recognized as a leading soloist, recitalist and chamber musician beloved for his unsurpassed technique and the much-vaunted beauty of his richly coloured tone. His broad repertoire ranges from Baroque to the present, and his strong commitment to contemporary music is reflected in numerous premieres of new works. In 2024 season Antoine continues to engage on a truly international level, from European tour with Staatskapelle Dresden to debuts with Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, artist-in-residence at the South Korean Tongyeong International Music Festival as well as premiere of Joe Hisaishi’s Viola Saga in Asia.In recent seasons, Antoine has performed with orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra among many others. He performs regularly with major conductors including Teodor Currentzis, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Daniel Harding, Paavo Järvi, Klaus Mäkelä, Sir Antonio Pappano, Kirill Petrenko, Sir Simon Rattle, Francois-Xavier Roth, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Christian Thielemann, and Jaap van Zweden.