Kavakos dazzles in Tchaikovsky with BBCSO under Järvi
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- Leonidas Kavakos performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, tackling the work's fiendish passagework with exceptional dexterity and pinpoint intonation that drew spontaneous applause mid-cadenza.
- Paavo Järvi accompanied with calm, control and clarity, keeping the orchestra in soft-shoed lockstep with the soloist's generous rubato throughout the concerto.
- Kavakos followed the concerto with a Bach encore dispatched with similar poise and precision.
- Dani Howard's Concerto for Brass, subtitled 'Signal' in reference to brass instruments' historical use as communication, received its world premiere at the concert, opening with violins and horns and featuring bright, celebratory textures crowned by trumpets and underpinned by bass trombone and tuba.
- Järvi closed the programme with Scriabin's Second Symphony, rendering its internal architecture admirably clear while delivering brooding emotional punch in the opening movement's melancholy strivings.
- Järvi is set to take the reins at the London Philharmonic in 2028, according to the review.
Why it matters: Järvi's appointment at the London Philharmonic from 2028 makes this concert a marker of his ongoing presence on the London orchestral scene, while the world premiere of Howard's brass concerto hands the BBCSO a new addition to the contemporary repertoire shaped by its signature instrumentation.
