Leonidas Kavakos, considered one of the most outstanding violinists of his generation, is experiencing steadily growing demand as a soloist and concert musician. His first album for ECM, featuring the renowned Hungarian pianist Péter Nagy, explores the musical and historical relationship between Maurice Ravel and George Enescu.
Ravel, who had partly Swiss and partly Basque roots, received his training in France and lived from 1875 to 1937. Enescu, born in Romania in 1881 and died in 1955, attended the Paris Conservatoire with Ravel in the 1890s, where they both studied composition with Fauré. On this recording, Ravel's "Posthumous Sonata" and the Gypsy-influenced "Tzigane" frame Enescu's "Impressions d'enfance" and his Third Sonata. In doing so, they impressively place Enescu at the center and encourage a renewed appreciation of his work. While Ravel is well established, Enescu often remains in the shadows – but with this recording, his rediscovery begins.