Leonidas Kavakos and Apollon Ensemble
Queen’s Hall 23/8/25
Leonidas Kavakos (violin/director), ApollΩn Ensemble
My last report from this year’s Edinburgh International Festival is from the Queen’s Hall on 23rd August. Violinist Leonidas Kavakos was the soloist and director of his ApollΩn Ensemble in Bach’s 4 Violin Concertos, the A-minor BWV1041, the E-major BWV1042, the G minor BWV1056r, and the D minor BWV1052r. The ‘r’ in the designation of the latter two denotes being reconstructed (or reverse-engineered) from the only surviving scores of Bach’s transcriptions as Keyboard Concertos. All 4 concertos follow the Venetian fast-slow-fast 3-movement model. The ApollΩn Ensemble comprises Leonidas, a string quartet, plus a double bass and a harpsichord continuo. Festival Director Nicola Benedetti welcomed the full house to the last concert of the Queen’s Hall series, nine of which have been recorded by the BBC for later broadcast on Radio 3 (and subsequent accessibility on BBC Sounds).
The A-minor is the most clearly influenced by Vivaldi, especially in the slow movement. From the start, gorgeous cantabile playing from Leonidas was couched in warm ensemble tone with a responsive chamber vibe enriched by that double bass. Subtly varied ornamentation in repeated ritornello phrases was idiomatic and engaging. The excellent acoustic of the Queen’s Hall played its part too. The slow movement, one of my very favourite of Bach’s, was exquisite, the solo soaring freely between C major and A-minor over the serene ostinato of the ensemble. The Gigue finale was playful and agile, with the same approach to ornamentation and a cute mini-cadenza. Super.
An ornate wee improvised harpsichord prelude launched the E-major concerto. Otherwise, the same chamber music values and idiomatic interpretative ethos suffused the performance. The first-violin counterpoint that accompanied the solo sequences in the first movement was very lovely and the double bass contribution to the ensemble sound was again quite special. A dramatic pause after a forlorn minor-key episode made the E-major ritornello even sweeter. C#-minor dominated the wistful melancholy slow movement, the solo violin soaring over a ground bass in a triple metre. The brief charming genial rondo finale restored the good humour in triple metre also.
Another, more extended, harpsichord prelude established the key for the G minor concerto (Bach’s keyboard transcription was in F-minor BWV1056). It’s not my favourite but the chugga-chugga rhythm of the first movement is infectious. The major-key rhapsodic meditative cantabile solo line in the slow movement over pizzicato accompaniment was scrumptious. The playful finale, despite returning to the minor key, derived much mischief and mirth from the echoing “cuckoos” at the ends of phrases. Super ornamentation in the episodes between the tutti made it even more engaging and enjoyable.
The D-minor, after the interval, is the beefiest of the four. Hitherto, and I say this as a string player, I have tended to prefer the keyboard version. But, right from the start, the performance I heard has turned me completely in that regard, as it was utterly compelling. And fierce double-stopping and bariolage on a violin is a thousand times more expressive than a tinkling harpsichord, whatever about a modern piano. And the ornate cadenza was superb. The rhapsodic solo over the stoic ground bass of the slow movement was delicious. The agility and dramatic counterpoint of the scampering finale was a thrill from start to finish.
The ecstatic applause was rewarded with an unexpected treat, Praising the Queen’s Hall, Leonidas hinted teasingly that they had played all the violin concertos “except one” – did he mean the “Double”? Whereupon Nicky appeared and they played the slow movement of the D-minor Double Violin Concerto BWV1043. Completely unrehearsed and spur-of-the-moment. But a perfect way to bring another Queen’s Hall series to a close.