Czech Chamber Music Society • Leonidas Kavakos

Robert Schumann’s chamber pieces are relatively few in number compared to his piano works and songs (until 1839 he composed exclusively for piano). In addition to three string quartets, a piano quintet and several piano trios, he wrote only several compositions for a string or a wind instrument, mostly with piano accompaniment. A true Romantic, Schumann lived in a century of virtuosos, to which he made a significant contribution himself both as a pianist and as a composer. His three sonatas for violin and piano (of which the last one remained unfinished and consists of only two movements) seem to be unpretentious, but demand considerable virtuosity. They were composed in a very short period of time – the first two violin sonatas, in A minor and D minor, were written in 1851, while the unfinished third one dates from 1852. There must have been a reason for such a creative explosion for Schumann, who was never particularly fond of the violin, and that was his friendship with the outstanding violinists – Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski, conductor and concertmaster from Düsseldorf; Joseph Joachim, with whom Schumann later consulted his Violin Concerto; and above all Ferdinand David, the concert master of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and a teacher at the Leipzig Conservatory.

Schumann had a deep connection with the city of Leipzig. His Violin Sonata No. 2, op. 121 is dedicated to David because of what David had written in one of his surviving letters to Schumann: “I am uncommonly fond of your Fantasiestücke for piano and clarinet; why don’t you write something for violin and piano? There is such a lack of good new pieces, and I can think of no one who could do it better than you.” Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 105 was premiered by David and Schumann’s wife Clara. Schumann wrote the second violin sonata specifically for David – he did so at a miraculous pace, between 26 October and 2 November 1851. As in his other works, he encoded the dedicatee’s name in the score: in the opening and in the first movement, there is a motif consisting of the four-note sequence DA(vid) F(erdinan)D. Wasielewski recalled another circumstance of the sonata’s inception: after the publication of the A minor Sonata, Schumann allegedly made the following comment: “I didn’t like the first violin sonata, so I wrote a second, which I hope turned out better.” However, it is not possible to compare the two works in quality; they differ above all in character and scope.

The second sonata is based on a wide-ranging plan and is so expressive in every respect that it is hard to believe that Schumann’s creative powers were waning at that time. The second movement retains the lyrical character of Schumann’s scherzo movements in 6/8 time with two different rhythms and expressively contrasting sequences in the trio – which greatly influenced the young Brahms. The third movement comprises a series of variations on a theme derived from the Lutheran chorale Aus tiefer Not schreiʼ ich zu Dir, reverting back to sonata form only at the beginning and at the end of this movement. In all movements of the sonata, an extraordinary role is played by the piano and contrary to the custom of the time is given a great deal of space. Although the sonata is dedicated to David, it was actually premiered by Joseph Joachim and Clara Schumann in a concert on 29 October 1853. Together with Märchenbildern, Op. 113 (Fairy Tale Pictures), the sonata is one of the last major works composed by Schumann.

César Franck (1822–1890), a composer of German Belgian origin, lived in Paris from his youth and was known for many years primarily as a church musician and organist in several churches there, especially at St. Clotilde, and as the professor of organ and improvisation at the conservatoire. It was not widely known that besides writing music for organ, harmonium, and piano, he was composing orchestral works, operas, oratorios, and chamber music. Only during the last two decades of his life did he win recognition (Legion of Honour, president of the Société Nationale de Musique) as well as the respect of the general public for some of his late works. After the premiere of his Violin Sonata in A major, the critic Ernest Reyer remarked: “It’s not a sonata, but it’s fiendishly beautiful.” The year was 1886, the piece was a hot new sensation and doubly pleasing: Franck had dedicated it to his friend, the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, as a wedding gift.

The cyclical Sonata in A major offers a rare balance of the tradition of classical forms, the chromatic harmony of Late Romanticism, contrapuntal erudition, and songful melody. The main theme of the first movement also appears in a variety of transformations in the other movements as the work’s “motto”. An opening prologue is followed by a contrasting second movement and a lyrical third. The final movement captivates us both for its canonic voice leading and its melodiousness. The unusual difficulty of the piano part reveals how skilled an organist (and pianist) César Franck was. Thanks to its compositional mastery, its warmth of expression, and the composer’s peculiar wisdom that an attentive listener senses in the music, the Sonata in A major has become one of the most popular compositions of its genre.

Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos is recognized across the world as an artist of rare quality, combining unparalleled technique with captivating musicality and interpretative originality. He regularly collaborates with leading ensembles and conductors and performs as a soloist in the world’s most prestigious concert halls and festivals.

As a soloist, he works with elite orchestras such as the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics and the London Symphony Orchestra. In the 2025/26 season, he will appear with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. In recent years, he has also firmly established himself as a conductor, appearing with the Czech Philharmonic, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra, among others.

In 2022, he founded the ApollΩn Ensemble, a chamber group of elite Greek musicians who are in increasing demand internationally. With this ensemble, he performs at the Verbier, Edinburgh International, and Santander festivals, as well as in London’s Wigmore Hall and the Vienna’s Musikverein. In 2025 he takes over as the Artistic Director of the „Classic Revolution“ Festival at Lotte Concert Hall, Seoul.

He records exclusively for Sony Classical. To mark the Beethoven anniversary, he released Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, which he performed both as soloist and conductor with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and reissued the complete Beethoven sonatas with Enrico Pace, originally recorded in 2007 and awarded the Echo Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year. Together with Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma, he also released the acclaimed album Beethoven for Three, featuring two Beethoven symphonies arranged for piano trio.

Leonidas Kavakos was born into a musical family in Athens, where he now curates annual masterclasses for violin and chamber music, attracting young artists from all over the world. In 2024, he was appointed professor of violin at the Basel Academy of Music. He performs on the 1734 „Willemotte“ violin by Antonio Stradivari.

Enrico Pace was born in Rimini, Italy. He studied piano with Franco Scala both at the Rossini Conservatory, Pesaro, where he graduated in Conducting and Composition, and later at the Accademia Pianistica Incontri col Maestro, Imola. Jacques De Tiège was a valued mentor. Winning the Utrecht International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in 1989 marked the beginning of his international career.

He has performed in Europe as well as South America with many major orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Bamberger Symphoniker, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and many more, working with conductors like Roberto Benzi, David Robertson, Andrey Boreyko or Mark Elder.

Enrico Pace enjoys on-going partnerships with violinists Leonidas Kavakos, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Akiko Suwanai and Liza Ferschtman, as well as with cellist Sung-Won Yang, performing with them throughout Europe, the USA and Asia. Other chamber music partners include cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, clarinetist Sharon Kam, pianist Igor Roma and horn player Marie Luise Neunecker, as well as the Keller Quartet, the RTE Vanbrugh Quartet and the Quartetto Prometeo. He regularly participates in chamber music festivals and has visited Delft, Moritzburg, Risør, Kuhmo, Montreux, Stresa and West Cork.

Recent highlights include the Beethoven Sonata cycle with Leonidas Kavakos in among others New York (Carnegie Hall), Athens, Florence, Milan, Amsterdam, Moscow and Tokyo and at the Salzburg Festival and the Beethovenfest Bonn, as well as further duo recitals in the USA, Europe and China; Bach Sonatas with Frank Peter Zimmermann in among others New York, Amsterdam, Zürich, Frankfurt, Bamberg and Japan; a performance at the Scala in Milan of Schubert’s Schwanengesang with Matthias Goerne; recitals with viola player Antoine Tamestit in Zürich, Frankfurt and Cologne; recitals with Akiko Suwanai in Japan and at the Wigmore Hall in London; recitals with cellist Sung-Won Yang in Korea and Japan, and solo recitals in among others the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Herkulessaal in Munich.

With Mr. Kavakos and cellist Patrick Demenga he recorded the piano trios by Mendelssohn (Sony Classical). His recording of the complete Beethoven Sonatas for piano and violin with Mr. Kavakos was released by Decca Classics in January 2013 and was nominated for a Grammy Award. In April 2016 Decca Classics released a CD of the duo performing virtuoso encore works. With Mr. Zimmermann he recorded the Busoni Violin sonata no. 2 and the six Sonatas for violin and piano BWV 1014–1019 by J. S. Bach for Sony Classical. In 2011 the label Piano Classics released his highly praised solo recording of the Années de pèlerinage “Suisse” and “Italie” of Franz Liszt.