[Herald Interview] Violinist Kavakos on masterful pairing of Bach and Shostakovich for 2025 Classic Revolution

Violinist Leonidas Kavakos performs with the KBS Symphony Orchestra on Sept. 11 during the 2024 Classic Revolution at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul. (Lotte Concert Hall)

Greek Violinist Leonidas Kavakos, who performed with the KBS Symphony Orchestra earlier this month as part of the annual Classic Revolution, is set to return to Korea next year. When he returns, it will be as the new artistic director of the classical music festival organized by the Lotte Foundation for Arts.

For next year, the violinist, who is also pursuing a career as a conductor, said that he will focus the music of Bach and Shostakovich.

He explained that the inspiration for the 2025 program came from the fact that it marks the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich's death and this led him to pair Shostakovich's works with those of Bach.

In a press interview on Sept. 12, Kavakos said that he hopes that the unique combination will provide a more meaningful and special listening experience for the audience.

The new artistic director of Classic Revolution explained that Bach’s music, often regarded as the epitome of human musical achievement, is innovative in its use of harmony, melody and structure. In contrast, Shostakovich’s music reflects the profound human suffering caused by social issues and inequalities, highlighting the unhappiness prevalent in the world.

“The combination of these two giants of music, when you hear them back to back, offers not only an incredibly strong contrast but, at the same time, through this contrast, helps listeners find themselves how to position in the society with our problems and challenges and consider and start contemplating how we go ahead,” he noted.

“This is exactly why we propose experiencing Bach from Shostakovich’s perspective and Shostakovich’s music from Bach’s perspective,” he said.

Kavakos also stressed coexistence and interaction among people.

“In the classical music tree consisting of composers and interpreters, if you take one composer out of the chain, then the whole tree is going to look different. I believe the same thing in our society today but in our time, there are many issues separating human beings instead of bringing them together,” he said.

“I’d like to stress the significance of coexistence and what can be achieved together in the spirit of making the world better,” he said, adding that bringing together international players with different backgrounds to show expressive and convincing music is one example.

In line with this spirit of coexistence and interaction, Kavakos announced that he will offer masterclasses and open rehearsals to engage with the audience.

Born in Athens in 1967, Kavakos began playing violin at a young age and gained international recognition early in his career, winning several prestigious competitions such as the Sibelius Violin Competition in 1985.

German violinist, violin educator and conductor Christoph Poppen was appointed the artistic director of Classic Revolution in its inaugural year, 2020. In 2003, Berlin Philharmonic principal clarinetist and conductor Andreas Ottensamer took on the role.

Violinist Leonidas Kavakos (Lotte Concert Hall)

By Park Ga-young(gypark@heraldcorp.com)