Leonidas Kavakos’s Kreisler is authentic in the best meaning of that term, namely a keen approximation both of the music’s spirit and of the composer’s inimitable playing style. Few Kreisler recitals have recalled, in so much minute detail, the warmth, elegance and gentlemanly musical manners of the master himself. It was an inspired idea to open the programme with that nostalgic evocation of Old Vienna, the eight-minute VienneseRhapsodic Fantasietta, a Korngold sound-alike that can’t waltz without smiling wistfully or even shedding the odd tear. Kavakos has mastered that lilting 3/4 to a T. His tone is uncannily familiar – cooler and less vibrant perhaps than Kreisler’s own during the earlier part of his recording career but with a similarly consistent (though never overbearing) vibrato. But don’t imagine that these performances are mere imitations: an individual personality does come through, it’s just that a Kreislerian accent has become part of the mix – at least for the purposes of this recital. The programme has been very well chosen, ending with what are surely Kreisler’s three most famous miniatures – Liebesleid, Liebesfreud and Caprice viennois. The Slavonic Fantasie after Dvorák is among the most interesting, incorporating as it does the first of the four RomanticPieces. Cyril Scott’s Lotus Land is haunting and exotic, while Kreisler’s own Zigeuner-capriccio provides a fine example of Kavakos’s slightly melancholy puckishness. Péter Nagy’s stylish accompaniments add yet more flavour to the menu.
The Gramophone
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