In January 2019, Tom Borrow was called on to replace renowned pianist Khatia Buniatishvili in a series of 12 concerts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. At only 36 hours' notice, he performed Ravel's Piano Concerto in G to sensational public and critical acclaim. The chief music critic of the Israel Broadcasting Corporation, Yossi Schifmann, hailed his performance as "brilliant... outstanding", ending his review with the words, "Tom Borrow is already a star and we will all surely hear more about him". Following this successful series Tom was further presented by the IPO in gala concerts held in London and Mexico City, and reinvited for a second subscription series. Later that year, International Piano magazine named him their ‘One To Watch’. Soon afterwards, Gramophonegave him the same accolade (“an exciting young pianist...individuality and elegance"). In December 2021, after his hugely-praised US debut with the Cleveland Orchestra, Musical America named Tom their 'New Artist Of The Month'. Tom has been named a BBC New Generation Artist for 2021-23, a highly prestigious scheme that will see him perform with all the BBC orchestras, at Wigmore Hall and many more during the two-year tenure, including multiple BBC broadcasts.​

Born in Tel Aviv in 2000, Tom Borrow has performed as soloist with all major orchestras of his native country, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Symphony Orchestra. He began studying piano aged five with Dr. Michal Tal at the Givatayim Music Conservatory, and currently studies with Prof. Tomer Lev, Head of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University. 

Tom has been regularly mentored by Murray Perahia, through the Jerusalem Music Centre’s program for outstanding young musicians.​Tom has won every national piano competition in Israel, including first prize at the Israeli Radio & Jerusalem Symphony Young Artist Competition in Jerusalem, and three first prizes at the "Piano Forever" Competition in Ashdod (in three different age categories). In 2018 Tom won the prestigious "Maurice M. Clairmont" award, given to a single promising artist once every two years by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and Tel-Aviv University.

​After the Israel Philharmonic success, Tom has been invited by major orchestras around the world - recent and forthcoming engagements include the Cleveland Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, BBC Symphony Orchestra, ‘La Verdi’ Orchestra of Milan, Basque National Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Ulster Orchestra and others - and is invited by leading conductors including Semyon Bychkov, Fabio Luisi, Sakari Oramo, Thierry Fischer, Xian Zhang, Robert Trevino, Tomas Netopil, Sascha Goetzel, Omer Wellber, Dan Ettingerand Maxim Emelyanchev. Tom has also toured to Eastern Europe with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, to regular standing ovations, and to South Korea with the Tel Aviv Soloists.

​Equally in-demand on the chamber music and recital fronts, recent and forthcoming engagements include the Verbier Festival, Wigmore Hall, Vancouver Recital Society, James Ehnes’s Seattle Chamber Music Society, Festival Piano Aux Jacobins (Toulouse), Aldeburgh Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Tsinandali Festival (Georgia), Bolzano Concert Society (Italy) and Bellerive Festival(Geneva).​

Throughout the many masterclasses Tom has participated in, he had the privilege of working under the instruction of such prominent artists and pedagogues as Sir András Schiff, Christoph Eschenbach, Richard Goode, Menahem Pressler, and Tatiana Zelikman, among many others.​

As well as the International Piano, Gramophone and Musical America recognition, WWFM Radio in the US recently featured him as an outstanding young talent, with the much-respected presenter Jed Distler commenting, "Tom Borrow is an immensely talented young pianist...keep your eye on this really, really talented youngster - he is special". International Piano livestreamed Tom’s recital for the Rubinstein Virtual PianoFest, RAI Television livestreamed his concert with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra under Semyon Bychkov, Spanish Television broadcast a performance of Brahms Piano Concerto No 2 with the Basque National Orchestra under Robert Trevino. Tom's first album is due out soon from Hanssler Classic.

Piano

Tom Borrow

Nominated by Sir András Schiff, Israeli pianist Tom Borrow joins us for his debut recital on the Classeek Ambassador Programme with a commanding programme of monumental solo piano works.

He opens with a masterful triptych by César Franck, demonstrating the French composer’s unique fusion of traditional forms and innovative, unexpected harmonies. While the form of the Prelude and Fugue had been made famous by JS Bach, it had been neglected for much of the 19th

century. Franck’s attempt to revitalise the form marked a move away from sacred and organ music, which had occupied much of his early career. The Prelude, Chorale and Fugue demand both expressive depth and technical prowess of the player, with contrapuntal lines weaving around each other. Franck takes us on a journey from a majestic, heroic opening via an introspective, reflective chorale into an exhilarating climax of the final fugue.

We then move onto the work of another French composer, working a generation on from Franck. The Chorale et Variations from Dutilleux’s only piano sonata is packed full of references to a range of Soviet and French impressionist composers. Dedicated to and premiered by Dutilleux’s wife Geneviève Joy in 1948, it is one of the composer’s first mature works.

As a final offering, Tom Borrow presents one of Schumann’s finest works for solo piano and a cornerstone work in the greater Romantic repertoire. The composer referred to his Fantasie in C major as ‘perhaps the most impassioned music I have ever written’ in a letter to Clara Wieck, the woman who went on to become his wife. The piece began life as Ruines, a single-movement lament for Clara, with whom Schumann was deeply in love. Clara’s father opposed their marriage and the pair were forced to live separately during a period of great anguish for the composer. The piece was then incorporated into a ‘Grand Sonata’ for one of Schumann’s great composing idols, Beethoven. Sweeping romantic gestures are littered throughout the work, which is similarly grandiose and intimate, with moments of profound lyricism and dramatic contrasts. In its final iteration, Schumann dedicated the piece to Franz Liszt, one of the few pianists of the time who had the technique to be able to tackle the technical challenges of the second movement. Schumann demands sustained passages of simultaneous leaps in both hands, requiring a great deal of physical stamina. It remains one of the most challenging but rewarding pieces for pianists today.

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Tom Borrow

Piano Recital

21.06.23

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