Leonidas Kavakos, Paganini Cadenza

[TheMaximvengerov]

frankly,i wonder if anybody ever had a technique like that,pagananini?ysaye?etc....h­e makes everybody else,yes even repin,heifetz,hillary,and the other greats technically challenged compare to this.

what a maniac!his set-up is so sick.all of this with a russian bow-grip,never moving the finger on the stick except for some staccato.....:0

[Kingdenifl]

Such a solid, concentrated and great tone, while he seems to play relaxed and with ease, still focused though.

His virtuosity is unmatched these days.

A truly great violinist.

[Atento80]

gran .musicalidad,gran fraseo,eso de que los de gran tecnica no tienen expresion es el consuelo de algunos.invito a que oigan sus versiones de la sinfonia española de lalo,o el sibelius y despues me hablan.

[miguelbuchhalter]

Con toda la tecnica que a uno le sobre tiene que crear algun evento artistico y musical, y no me parece el caso, a pesar de que lo que le sobra es mucho.

[miguelbuchhalter]

Hace todas las notas incluso demasiado rapido, de sauret, no manifiesta ningún gusto ni bueno ni malo, porque tocando tan rápido es imposible, Es solo eso, un tipo tocando todas las notas demasiado rápido, sin expresión, fraseo, y sin gracia..

Por supuesto que respeto su opinión, si a usted le gusta es libre de decirlo, y , hasta de ser un fanático de dicha interpretación, cosa que, curiosamente a mi no me hace pensar que usted tenga ningún fruto tapando sus oídos.

[miguelbuchhalter]

a mi me oarece un desastre total, por mas notas que toca

[Atento80]

@miguelbuchhalter le parece un destres total '?gano el concurso paganini,con esta audicion,...tambien el sibeius,,y el naumburg de NY...No entiendo comentarios como el suyo, mas encima viniendo de alguien con tan buen oido como ud.

[TimeStrider]

That does it!!! I'm breaking my violin over my knees and joining the monastery! There's a bus waiting outside to pick up other violinists who were completely demoralized by this performance.

[CrockSkinTesticles]

I am utterly and completely humbled

[mr69bones]

Amazingly executed. He's at his top form here. Wow !!! It's amazingly fast and clean at the same time. There is daring, and flash ( without loss of intonation and tone) !!! It's rare - even for most virtuosos - to be able to play as technically impressive as he has in this clip.

Enjoyable clip.

[Guadagnini1754]

He is amaizing! everytime I heard it is even more impressive

[Nstrumentalist1986]

this guy must have a fat penus and gets alot of pussy

[joellongview]

one of the best contemporary violinists out there...unbelievable stuff.

[joellongview]

Unbelievable...he is one of the best contemporary violinists.

[violin614]

I didn't pay attention to this earlier.

Yes, it seems like he's a great virtuoso, perhaps number one in the world, or in history.

That doesn't make him the greatest musician necesarily. But I'm certainly not downplaying his muicianship either. He can do alot because of his technique. Also, I'm strongly against those who do not understand that it takes a special genetic and postural constitution to be so excellent technically. But he also did all the hard work on top of that. Good job!

[EddytaK19]

He is great!!!!!!!!

[TheMaestroBrad]

While this is unbelievable violin playing no doubt, I think I prefer Fodor's Cadenza over this interpretation--his is so much more musical and thoughtful in my opinion; this is just flashy for the sake of being flashy.

[zhujun516]

@TheMaestroBrad for the technique angle, this is the best on youtube. it's played with smoth tempo and acurate notes, and it's so hard to do

[TheMaestroBrad]

@zhujun516 I'll give you that--Kavakos' playing is very relaxed and free-flowing. This is good, honest fiddle playing. As brilliant as he is, it could have been more musical for my taste.

[27adry]

GENIO

[crazy77town]

gosh, you need balls when you perform such a cadenza and you dont pull down even a little the tempo!!!

[Bautisnemo]

Apparently when he was studying with Gingold he practiced up to 17 hours a day something like that.

[jiasokim]

Same initials as leonid kogan, and maybe the next!

[calloffthedogs]

Kavakos = bad ass mofo

[titishev]

Hey, calloffthedogs , why you don't like him?

[calloffthedogs]

Oh no. I think he is AWESOME!!!!!!

[titishev]

Man, you are that humorist

[ptrefftz]

haha it's a compliment

[remusrimbu2]

has anybody noticed his prize of the bow and the bow tehnique he has?that the way heifetz plays.

thats correct but today only kavakos and mayuko kamio plays that way

[Sven6metalhead]

OMG...brutal!!!

[alesandreti]

This is amazing!!!!!

Kavakos you`re great!!

Gran interpretacion!!!!

BRAVO!!!!

[kissmyshoesx]

HOLLY SHITTT that was amazing. Thinking about how fast his fingers move makes my brain hurt....

[BrainyOlbap]

yuval yaron can match him!

[xPatriarch]

fing hacker lol

[babismos]

OMG...is he human?? God bless your hands Kavakos!!

[Violincrazy]

Holy f in S***

[wefasdf23]

If you're a violinist and you look at him from a technichal standpoint: that's the most beautiful sight and best form I've ever seen. It's architecture in human form.

[musicology2007]

Reading some of these comments makes me think that we're being tested...this guy is probably the best violinist ever and some people can't see it beyond the carisma that Vengerov or Joshua Bell have...if you close your eyes you'd be able to appreciate the technique and musicianship of Kavakos, which is beyond pretty much anyone else's

[remusrimbu2]

@musicology2007 You are very right of course all kind of trick vengerov bell and markov does(i know they fell music on the hightest level possible but there are other violinist that are very musical without ego)isn't good kavakos is the best violinist in the world I will like to notice the articulation,the sound and the bow tehnique that is different from today playing(like heifetz and milstein)sorry for my english

[Ellinidara]

Very true...!

[gnatural]

@musicology2007 music is too personal, there is no such thing as "the best" violinist , your comment can only be called an opinion and not fact.

[calloffthedogs]

shredder!

[cenolbaj]

He plays all the notes perfectly. But with an enthusiasm and attitude of a chartered accountant ... quite boring and unexciting to look at ...

[violatione]

I guess Heifetz is boring to look at too? Useless jyration is a waste of energy and it is not musical.

[cenolbaj]

No, to me Heifetz looked very mysterious ... BTW - what is "jyration" ? :)

[violatione]

gyration. I spelled it wrong.

[violatione]

Violinists didn't move around 50 years ago. Because when you can actually play the violin, you don't need to.

[calloffthedogs]

This guy has it all. Complete technical domination but sound musicianship as well.

[shugo104]

That's a rather odd comment... o.O Of course they moved... and there is nothing wrong with moving. People just don't understand that this isn't like head-banging guitar where you can jump around and whatnot. You move as your body needs to react, that's all. Staying completely still generally leads to discomfort in playing. There is nothing natural about playing the violin, you have to move some to counter the tension created by it.

[remusrimbu2]

@shugo104 you are right but not unneccessar moves like vengerov, he exagerate to much.moving is needed but not to much.belive me vengerov dont need his moving he wants to be special,an artist that music flows throught his body at that level that he is moving with all his body... be serious .tension in music must not be to much.look at vengerov.he doesent play any more.

[shugo104]

Why should he have to look "exciting" to be good? Close your eyes, enjoy.

[TheViolinBill]

Kavakos is the best violin player ever!He has the best and perfect tehnique ever!Only Paganini could challenge him!!!

[violatione]

He is better than Paganini

[MrCARLEUS]

Kavakos is the best violinist in the world.

[gimaru1]

he's nasty

[Ellinidara]

He's an amazing musician. !

[kevaughn1030]

ahh too many notes my brain....a technical master i agree, but he is too in love with dexterity and quickness and not enough with musicality in my opinion, at least here anyway

[henryfjames]

For God's sake, this is a piece of cadenza! what do yo expect???

[apogram]

there are no words for this kind of virtuosity.I believe even now Kavakos cannot repeat it in such a way..it was a special moment for the violin history

[EphraimFeves]

KAVAKOS!

[levapk]

Oh my god! His technic style reminds me only Vasa Prihoda!

[NorthenLight1]

The feel and perfection here is jawdroping.I never thought one could exececut this piece at this level , but Accardo.

[bbiguy]

check kogaan, I like his the best.

[bbiguy]

kogan, sorry

[gnatural]

Leonid is the carl flesch system incarnate, all he needs now is to be bound in blue and white paper and be given a book spine.

[moparroadrunner69]

Very clean Arpeggios!

[violin2429]

that s amazing!! the first time i listened it i cried for an hour,i was without any word..bravissimo and i don t think vengerov is different,is just nothing compared to him..

[Fisherdec]

Vengerov and Kavakos are too different from each other dont compare them

[kavakosfan]

It's hard to compare Kavakos with other violinists. He is a complete violinist and musician, he's great as far as a virtuoso player, as a soloist with orchestra, as a chamber player and as a conductor. He's great whatever he plays.

[Silkmeister]

@kavakosfan he's also the best one thats not jewish! he's greek. only the greeks mess with the jews' capabilites

[kavakosfan]

It's difficult to compare Kavakos to other violinists of our time. Kavakos is great as a soloist, in chamber music repertoire, as a conductor too. He's a great violinist and a complete musician, always, whatever he plays.

[xmrbigglesworthx]

kavakos is a great player..that i think we can all agree on. however, you cant possibly take yourself seriously in trying to argue that kavakos is more "poetic" or "intimate" a player than maxim vengerov. they both hit all the notes, but with vengerov there is just something special about what he DOES with the notes. its like comparing kogan to oistrakh..

[hvassilev]

Yes! I also thing that Kavakos is very good but here he plays bad. To play very fast not mean virtuosity . There is a good example to reach- see Vasco Abadjiev in Paganini concert 1- version with conductor Vasil Stefanov

[TheBowIsMightier]

Well said. This cadenza is highly intimate, and poetic by any standard. Comparison between violinists is something that its quite often done but I try to not to, honestly; it's really impossible. I would say personal preference is the biggest issue. I think if you simply just only buy recordings by Kavakos because he's your favorite, hey, it's your loss. There are plenty of other great artists and I personally like to hear as many interpretations as I can. That's what music's all about.

[xmrbigglesworthx]

vengerov is better than kavakos.

[issagele]

um, no offense to Vengerov, he is a good violinist. However Kavakos is on a totally higher level

[marteo90]

@issagele Kavakos technically is superior to everyone but musically with vengerov it's like Paradise and life on the earth ;) Vengerov has a musical sense fantastic eugual to nobody in my opinion.. For the technique level Kavakos is like Mintz and Kogan... even if kogan in my opinion is better ;)

[tommkappa]

@marteo90 Kavakos is paradise, vengerov life on earth..

[carloslaran]

musicmatt09 exactly why do u believe vengerov is not even close to kavakos' level? let me mention that i mentioned vengerov since he plays wild just like kavakos was playing here and some stuff articulations and so on were of the same nature.

[carloslaran]

maxim vengerov is perhaps one of the few who can rival this.

[musicmatt09]

Vengerov and Kavakos aren't even on the same playing field - sorry.

[paganini13]

WOH!!!!!!AMAZING!!!!i thing Kavakos is one the best ever!

[stradivari87]

NO COMMENT!!! It's PERFECT....INCREDIBLE!!!

[bro2976]

This is in response to the "his articulation is terrible at some points" person. I feel a wonderful improvisatory quality in this recording, it has the blazing technique and accuracy, with a little risk thrown in which stylistically is very accurate. Generally people arguing about who is "better" seems a colossal waste of time, though I have never heard anything from Sarah Chang the even remotely parallels this type of natural virtuosity and abandon.

[NestorAudinotviolins]

totally agree with you. try Kogan's cadenza. unbelievable!

[bro2976]

Oh yes, Kogans is ridiculous. I always make it a point to exclude Kogan from any discussion, on the grounds that he is basically untouchable.  I wish that there was a recording of Kogans graduation caprices. I believe he did all 24 for that, I suppose it is buried somewhere, if they even recorded it. Kogans nel cor piu, it is beyond belief.

[NestorAudinotviolins]

I also think Kogan's Tchaikovsky is untouchable - the 1959 performance with Silvestri. Laserlike precision and yet its emotional too. The guy was unstoppable. Kogan is the only name I'd dare mention in the same sentence as Heifetz. Maybe even Heifetz had to look over his shoulder when Kogan was in the same room.

[bro2976]

Yes, thats the one. I think the Heifetz comparison is fairly common, many people cite Heifetz Bach as a reason to bad mouth him, but if you listen very closely, the man follows the line to perfection in the fugues, also he records with almost no reverb, so minor mistakes are more obvious. Do you have any info on Pikayzen? I have not heard him.

[NestorAudinotviolins]

He remained in the USSR. He was reportedly great friends with the Oistrakhs. Valeri Klimov beat him in one of the big competitions. However, I beleive that it is a widely hled and accepted belief that Pikayzen surpassed him.

[cremona32]

Absolutely stunning interperatation!Full of electricity just as the master would have demanded of himself in his tour of europe 1828-1834.Kavakos was tuning in to a higher state of mind in this period of his career,perhaps unsurpassable in the history of virtuoso style violin performing.

[mexindian1]

Amazingly fast double stopping - incredible. Bravo!!!

[ItzhakRoxMySox]

This is shit awesome. Damn good. I must say however, I have a recording of Sarah Chang on this, and her cadenza is unbeatable. No one's heard it I'm sure, but it's the damnest incredible thing ever. And dont go look at the vid of her on here playing the cadenza at 10, it was awesome then, but it's quadrupled since then in awesomeness

[Doctor550]

this is FANTASTIC i don't have words for this becouse it is simply perfect

[levoy4ge]

if this is Leonidas Kavakos you should change the title, shouldn't you?

[JVQ8Y]

Holy Crap!!!!!!!!!!!

it's Leonidas..

[victoryelamo]

He is Leonidas Kavakos, not Accardo.

Kavakos is a fantastic player, please do listen his Mozart's violin concertos.

[mhasselsjo]

You should listen to Schmuel Askkenazy's recording of this concerto.. His intonation and overall performance is much more enjoyable if music is what you want. Although Salvatore here is more of an "I-can't believe my ears" violinist. But def not my cup of tea.

[creativecreate]

The person performing is Leonidas Kavakos, not Salvatore Accardo.

[mhasselsjo]

Yes you´re right. Thx.

[trogerhunter]

Holy mother fuck!! God bless him.. FUCKKKKK

[ciaociaoi]

the best..

[mixailaggelos2004]

LOL this is Kavakos u thief !

[cellosail]

you stole my video

[kotomalamitsosos]

aimson suck my balls.You are a deaf piece of shit you should really check your ears man.He is just perfect and he is 20 years old...Bear in mind that Kavakos is much better than Accardo is and if you don't belief me hear his Beethoven...It sucks as well

[gimaru1]

it is great, fast virtuosic but it is not perfect.. listen carefuly if you are interested in finding the perfection.. anyway I enjoy it very very much. as far as Acardo, I think he is closer to perfection than this guy.. fast does not always means better...

[SkrPchr3]

@kotomalamitsosos

Check out my previous post, where I listed some of the inaccuracies. I'm not doing this to put him down (it's a phenomenal performance regardless). I'm doing this for some of the delusional people here who thinks this is near-perfect. Accardo is not perfect either (neither is Kogan, Heifetz, Gulli, or any human being), but his performance is more accurate (on average--there are some parts where Kavakos is superior). Speed alone is not technique. Accuracy is.

[aimson]

I think Accardo plays this with more fire and energy - this is quite subdued in comparison. Still a great performance but just doesn't have the same effect for me.

[aimson]

Also, I try not to confuse speed with energy. His technique is amazing (despite the unarticulated or missed notes) and he certainly plays faster than Accardo. I made my comment in relation to the feeling and emotion, not just the notes.

[leonidaskavakos]

unarticulated or missed notes?Do we hear the same thing?!!

[aimson]

His articulation is terrible at some points, particularly during the fast runs. It's not a matter of hearing the same thing, it's a matter of the quality of our listening. I like his technique and interpretation but am not blinded by my bias as you are. If you listen closely there are many imperfections and unarticulated notes all over the place. This is the price he pays for speed.

[leonidaskavakos]

well give some examples with exact times.

And bear in mind that this is one of the most difficult music written for this instrument.I mean, this is as perfect as it gets.And as for Accardo he plays more slowly but what is impressive is that his playing is much less flawless than kavakos's.I'm not blinded by nothing,maybe u should strech your ears a little more.

[aimson]

Hehe, this is the last time I will read or respond to anything you write on youtube. As soon as you wrote, "this is as perfect as it gets," I realized that your ears are not the problem. Come back in about 10 years when you have developed your poor sense of judgment and spotty listening skills. Then perhaps you will say something worth hearing. Bye.

[leonidaskavakos]

fuck you moron

[SkrPchr3]

@leonidaskavakos

Aimson is right. Some exact times:

0:16, 1:09, 1:16 (intonation)

1:30, 1:37, 1:52 (articulation, compare with Accardo. Ideally you want to minimize the "shifting" sound)

1:40 (missed a lot of notes in that ricochet; I admit, it's humanly impossible to hit all the notes, but Accardo comes closer)

And these are just the more obvious ones within the first 2 minutes. Still an astonishing performance.

[emran90]

@SkrPchr3 all you said its nearly right but this thing to play like kavakos is ... SOMETHING

[SkrPchr3]

@emran90

I agree. This is an insane performance regardless. I don't mean to put down Kavakos.

I was just responding to leonidaskavakos' comparison between Kavakos and Accardo. Musically, you might like one over the other...but in terms of technique, there's no question that Accardo's performance is better. I like Kavakos, but I'm not delusional enough to think he is perfect, or that this is the best performance in history.

[violinstupid]

@SkrPchr3 No performance is perfect. This is absolutely incredible for a live performance. 

[pastrocchio90]

kavakos plays it way better than accardo and he was just 20 in this video. do you think you can make a comparison between a 40 years old man (at that time) and a teenager?? however kavakos grew much better and he's in another planet. he's perfect in every way, accardo recorded everything of paganini but i don't like his style

[aimson]

Hey, fair enough. You like Kavakos and not Accardo, I understand. You think Kavakos is "perfect in every way," and the greatest violinist on this planet right now. Or, another planet, to be more accurate. I also hear a lot of problems in Accardo's playing and don't like certain areas of his style. For example, his vibrato sounds like a goat and is ugly much of the time. He is not perfect in every way for sure.

[pastrocchio90]

being perfect doesn't only concern technique. when i say perfect i'm not saying he does no mistakes. when i say perfect i'm saying that he can read a piece, he can understand it, he can play it in his own original way without making it ridiculous or weird. how many other violinists like that do you know? i looked around much but didn't find one like him.

[DinoDragovic]

hahahahah, when u give your seLf a right to "don't Like" somebodies styLe, u shLd Learn first to pLay better :PPPP or u r prepared to teach him some Lession in session XD call him xD try it..u never know .mwahahahaha

[angolare]

he is kavakos

[johannviolista]

he no is mr accardo

[Mibelin]

The hell he is better than Accardo

[elcid22]

This is a real PHENOMENON,much better than Accardo.

[S1ndar]

Oh-My-God. O_O

[cornel999]

do you have the rest of this performance?

[violin03]

Oh, it's the response.Sorry.

[violin03]

Kavakos, not Accardo.