The State Orchestra of Athens held a concert for the children of refugees from Ukraine on June 4 in the Christos Lambrakis Hall. In the dual role of soloist and principal musician, Leonidas Kavakos collaborated with two young musicians, Ukrainian violinist Dmitry Udovichenko and Ilias-Iona Livierato, who played the viola.

The evening began somewhat awkwardly with Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra (Cat. No. 1043). With his appearance, Kavakos probably surprised the musicians of the orchestra, who took some time to find their pace. In general, in this work, the coordination between the soloists and the ensemble was far from ideal, which limited the interest in the collaboration of Kavakos with Udovichenko, which compensated for everything else. A little later, the Ukrainian violinist revealed the other side of his talent, very expressively performing the slow second part of the Sibelius Violin Concerto. This is the work with which Kavakos identified himself, since at the very beginning of his career he performed and recorded in reference performances both the original and the final version of the work. Thus, while conducting the State Orchestra of Athens, he knew perfectly well how to support his younger colleague and emphasize the emotional load of the piece.

Brahms’ Fourth Symphony was performed in one of the best performances of Kratika.

Between the works of Bach and Sibelius, the second part of Mozart’s Symphony Concertante in E flat major for violin, viola and orchestra was performed. There were magical moments in Kavakos’ collaboration with Ilias-Ionas Livieratos, which made it possible to overlook some moments of tonal instability in the latter’s playing.

In the second part of the evening, Leonidas Kavakos conducted Johannes Brahms’ Fourth Symphony. And it was one of the best interpretations of the Kratika piece, despite the question asked about the sound quality of the strings. The result, perhaps, is precisely due to the fact that Kavakos invested much less in the aesthetics of sound and instead focused on expressing the content of the music. Relatively high speeds, even in the slow second half, limited the possibility of awkward moments. On the contrary, strong dynamic changes and characteristic accents in the third and fourth movements gave a particularly dramatic reading of the Symphony, which was further confirmed by the excellent contribution of individual musicians on brass and drums.

Despite the presence of Kavakos and his charitable nature, the concert did not attract people. It is noted that whether he is playing complex works such as Bruckner’s 8th Symphony, or popular ones such as Dvořák’s New World Symphony, or whether a well-known master musician such as Essenbach or a lesser known one is conducting, audience attendance in number regular state concerts remains limited. This does not happen at other Megaros Musikis concerts or other venues. The problem must be solved if there is a future.