“This is playing that sorts out the men from the boys. I doubt if there is more than a handful of violinists alive who can match Kavakos in the tonal variety, accuracy and speed of his harmonics, or in the deft alternation of bowing and left-hand pizzicato. In fact, I wonder if Paganini would have equaled him,” wrote Gramaphone. The Greek violinist made his Aspen debut in 2007 and now returns for a recital with the sensational pianist Daniil Trifonov.

They open the program with Beethoven’s dramatic and propulsive Fourth Violin Sonata. Poulenc dedicated his Violin Sonata to Federico García Lorca, the Spanish poet shot by fascists at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. The angry outer movements surround a tender elegy which in the score bears a quotation from Lorca: “the guitar makes dreams weep.” Brahms was 46 before he published his first violin sonata, although given his habit of throwing his manuscripts into the fire, there may well have been earlier attempts. Whatever may have preceded the G major sonata, he hit a home run with it. Even the self-critical Brahms himself was pleased, writing “The melodies fly so thick here that you have to be careful not to step on one.” Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1 is a virtuosic work based on Hungarian folk melodies which the composer later orchestrated. One of the tunes may remind you of the American Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts” used in Copland’s ballet Appalachian Spring.

Get ready for musical fireworks when two musical powerhouses team up in Harris Concert Hall!