Celebrated by the international press as a "virtuoso of astonishing brilliance" and "poetic artist" (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Luiza Borac has established herself as one of the most charismatic artists of her generation through her award-winning recordings for Avie Records. The spectacular winner of the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2007 impresses with her strong stage presence, her passionate interpretations and an amazing technique.
Her world premiere project of recording the piano works of George Enescu was honored in 2007 with the prestigious BBC Music Award. Her Enescu recordings were described by the international press as "outstanding, played idiomatically, strongly recommended" (BBC Music Award) and was called a "scale of future interpretations" (International Record Review). Luiza Borac performs regularly in Europe and the U.S. In 1991 she caused a stir when she stepped in for the ailing Sviatoslav Richter at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and earned rave reviews. She gave concerts at the Bing Theater in Los Angeles, on BBC Radio 3 in London, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Stockholm Concert Hall, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Oslo Music Festival, at the Barbican Centre in London, together with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Amsterdam, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Utah Symphony Orchestra, and the Bucharest Radio Orchestra. She also worked with artists such as Vladimir Jurowski, Murray Perahia and Radu Lupu. The Rumanian-born artist began her musical training at age four and earned her high school diploma at the "George Enescu Music High School" for gifted students in Bucharest. She completed her studies at the University of Bucharest and later the soloist class of the College of Music and Drama each with highest honors. In Hanover she was a student and later assistant to Professor Karl-Heinz Kammerling for eight years.
Luiza Borac won more than 30 awards and honors including first prize at the Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin and the International Music Competition Viotti-Valsesia, Italy, the silver medal at the International Piano Competition Gina Bachauer in Salt Lake City, the debut price of Carnegie Hall in New York, the "Prix d'Oslo", the Grieg prize and the audience prize at the International Piano Competition Edvard Grieg in Oslo. In 2009 Luiza Borac accepted the invitation of the Committee of the International Piano Competition Gina Bachauer to act as music ambassador for the project "Music-In-Our-Schools". She has performed and taught for a week in various schools in Salt Lake City and brought about 3,000 children to classical music. The artist performed several benefit concerts for Romanian orphans and street children.
With her recording featuring piano transcriptions by Liszt and Rachmaninov she supports orphanages in Romania. In 2011 she was awarded the Medaille d'Honneur and the title 'Ambassadrice de la Cite Episcopale' by the UNESCO for her commitment to Polio Plus, the major initiative of Rotary International to fight poliomyelitis. Currently Luiza Borac is PhD student in musicology at the University of Bucharest studying the piano works of George Enescu. In 2012 Borac recorded "Piano Music of Dinu Lipatti" for the label Avie on a C. Bechstein Concert Grand D. 282.
Photos: © Gregor Willmes
