One of the most inspirational violinists of our time, Kavakos is a favorite partner of some of today's greatest conductors. His Brahms concerto with Chailly is very impressive, and he teamed up with the pianist Yuja Wang for a stunning recording of Brahms' violin sonatas. His virtuosity is breathtaking—he debuted with the fiendishly difficult original version of the Sibelius Violin Concerto—but he is a thinker too, and makes real music. His performance of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet with Andreas Ottensamer and friends has a genuinely Hungarian flavor.