Jonian Ilias Kadesha

“To regard him simply as a huge talent is not enough; there is an element of pure genius in this young man.”

Jonian Ilias Kadesha has Greek-Albanian roots and lives in Berlin. The young musician is not only multilingual but also has a keen interest in philosophy and rhetoric.

His playing is characterized by stylistic accuracy in the interpretation of early to contemporary works, and in the exactness of his articulation. With boundless imagination of sound, Kadesha is always in search of something new.

Kadesha recently made his debut with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Tivoli Copenhagen, with the RTÉ Orchestra in Dublin, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Russian State Orchestra under Yuri Bashmet and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Sir András Schiff at the Kronberg Festival, as well as the Tapiola Sinfonietta. He made his debut with the Athens State Orchestra in Autumn 2019 performing the Skalkottas Violin Concerto, whose Small Suites he recorded for CAvi-music, along with works by Enescu and Ravel in 2017. Together with the cellist Vashti Hunter and in collaboration with Deutschlandfunk Kultur, he recorded the CD A Journey for Two for CAvi-music with works by Honegger, Skalkottas, Xenakis and Kodály. He has been signed to Linn Records since 2021, and in 2022 he released the CD Hommage à J.S.B.: Works for Violin Solo with Bach’s Partita in D Minor, a world premiere of Helena Winkelmann’s Ciaccona, and works by Kurtág, Biber, Schnittke and Auerbach.

The young violinist already appears in important concert halls and at well-known festivals across Europe. In summer 2020, he opened the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin after months of Covid-19-related concert silence. Other appearances have led him to the Wigmore Hall London, Handelsbeurs Concertzaal Gent, Louvre Paris, Philharmonie Berlin, Salle Molière Lyon as well as the Schubertiade, the Heidelberger Frühling, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, or the Kammermusikfestival Lockenhaus. At the Boswiler Sommer 2022, he premiered the work Tychecomposed for him by Giovanni Sollima with Chaarts Chamber Artists with further performances planned. At the Beethovenfest 2022 in Bonn, he will bring a diverse program with Beethoven, Bacewicz and Boulogne to the stage as a soloist and conductor with the Aurora Orchestra. He has also appeared in play/lead with the London Mozart Players, the Manchester Camerata, the Netherlands, Scottish and Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestras, as well as the Caerus Chamber Ensemble, of which he is a co-founder alongside Florian Schmidt-Bartha.

Chamber music connects him with renowned musicians such as Martha Argerich, Steven Isserlis, Nicolas Altstaedt, Thomas Demenga, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Ilya Gringolts and Pekka Kuusisto. He was also heard at the Kronberg Chamber Music Connects the World and the Verbier Academy Festival. He is a member of the Kelemen Quartet and co-founder of the award-winning Trio Gaspard, which regularly appears at festivals and in the music centers of Europe and the USA. In addition to the recording Trio Gaspard – Live in Berlin with works by Haydn, Zimmermann and Schubert for CAvi-music, the first album of the complete recording of Haydn’s piano trios, supplemented by contemporary works dealing with the trios, was recently released by Chandos.

Kadesha studied with Antje Weithaas at the Kronberg Academy. His previous teachers included Salvatore Accardo, Grigori Zhislin and Ulf Wallin. He studied chamber music with Hatto Beyerle in Hannover and at the European Chamber Music Academy. Masterclasses with Ferenc Rados, Steven Isserlis, Ivry Gitlis, Leonidas Kavakos and Eberhard Feltz complete his studies.

He is a prizewinner at the German Music Competition (2016), Windsor International (2017) and the Leopold Mozart Violin Competition (2013).

Jonian Ilias Kadesha plays a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (1749), on private loan.

Season 2022/2023 | Photo: Kaupo Kikkas | Quote: Süddeutsche Zeitung, July 21 2017.
Changes and abridgement must be coordinated with Künstlersekretariat Astrid Schoerke GmbH

No entries.

Selected programs play/conduct

Repertoire

Haydn, The Complete Piano Trios, Vol. 2
Haydn: Piano Trio No. 7 G major, Hob. XV: 41
Haydn: Piano Trio No. 21  B flat major, Hob. XV: 8
Haydn: Piano Trio No. 33 G minor, Hob XV: 19
Haydn: Piano Trio No. 35 C major, Hob. XV: 21
Haydn: Piano Trio No. 45 E-flat major, Hob. XV:29
Leonin Gorokhov: For Gaspard

Nicholas Rimmer, piano
Vashti Hunter, violoncello

Chandos Records CHAN 20270 (2023)

Hommage à J. S. B.

György Kurtág: Hommage a J. S. B; Perpetuum mobile a-c; Nepdafele; …feerie d’automne…
J. S. Bach: Partite No. 2 D minor BWV 1004
Helena Winkelman: Ciaccona 
A. Schnittke: Fugue
Lera Auerbach: Lonely Suite op. 70 “Ballet for a Lonely Violinist”
H. I. F. Biber: Passacaglia g-moll

Linn Records CKD 676 (2022)

Trio Gaspard – Haydn, the complete Piano Trios, Vol. 1

Haydn: Piano Trio No. 32 in A major op. 70 No. 1, Hob. XV: 18
Haydn: Piano Trio No. 38 in D major op. 73 No. 1, Hob. XV: 24
Haydn: Piano Trio No. 40 in F-sharp minor op. 73 No. 3, Hob XV: 26
Haydn: Piano Trio No. 23 in E-flat major op. 422 No. 3, Hob. XV: 10
Haydn: Piano Trio No. 20 in D major op. 40 No. 2, Hob. XV: 7
Johannes Fischer: One Bar Wonder

Nicholas Rimmer, piano
Vashti Hunter, violoncello

Chandos Records CHAN 20244 (2022)

A Journey for two

Iannis Xenakis: Dhipli Zyia, for Violin and Cello
Zoltán Kodály: Duo for Cello and Violin, op. 7
Arthur Honegger: Sonatina for Violin and Cello, H. 80
Nikos Skalkottas: Duo for Violin and Cello

Jonian Ilias Kadesha, violin
Vashti Hunter, violoncello

CAvi-music B08CHLYWR5 (2020)

Trio Gaspard – Live in Berlin

Haydn | Zimmermann | Schubert

Haydn: Piano trio No 44 (H15: 28)
Zimmermann: Presence, Ballet Blanc for Piano trio  für & narrator
Schubert: Piano trio E flat major D. 929

Nicholas Rimmer, piano
Vashti Hunter, violoncello

CAvi-music B086BDVP5B (2019)

Enescu | Ravel | Skalkottas

G. Enescu: Violin sonata no. 3
Ravel: Violin sonata in G major; Tzigane
N. Skalkottas: Little suites nos. 1 & 2

Nicholas Rimmer, piano

CAvi-music B0711TTPNH (2017)

Giovanni Sollima: TYCHE (commissioned work) – Jonian Ilias Kadesha & CHAARTS Chamber Artists

Beethoven: Romance No. 2 F major op. 50 – Jonian Ilias Kadesha with András Schiff and Chamber Orchestra of Europe

Jonian Ilias Kadesha on his Album “Hommage à J. S. B.”

Jonian Ilias Kadesha – a portait

G. Enescu: Ménétrier (from „Impressions d’enfance“) – Jonian Ilias Kadesha

Bach: Violin concerto E major BWV 1042 – Jonian Ilias Kadesha and CHAARTS Chamber Artists

Schubert: Piano trio in E-flat major op. 100 – Trio Gaspard

Mozart: Sonata G major K 301 – Jonian Ilias Kadesha & Nicholas Rimmer

G. Enescu: Sonata No. 3 in A minor op. 25 – Jonian Ilias Kadesha & Noam Greenberg

Sibelius: Violin concerto in D minor op. 47, I. Allegro Moderato – Jonian Ilias Kadesha

Bach: Sonata No. 1 in G minor for violin solo – Jonian Ilias Kadesha