Free But Happy by Shostakovich, Brahms, Ó (2025/2025), Seoltóir Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Musiikkitalo, Helsinki, Finland

“After the musicians of the New York Philharmonic finished Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto on Thursday night, they did something they don’t usually do: They applauded the soloist.” (New York Times, 5.5.2023) Leonidas Kavakos first conquered Finnish audiences and then the rest of the world. This spring marks 40 years since his success in the Sibelius Violin Competition. “Free but happy – frei aber froh” was the motto of the young Johannes Brahms, which he returned to at the age of 50 in the first notes of his Third Symphony, F-A♭-F