Album Trailer
Inspirations & Dreams
Enescu
Vierstimmige Fuge
Valse in D Major
Valse in E-Flat Major, “Flori de garoafa”
2 Romanian Rhapsodies, Op. 11
Ravel
Gaspard de la Nuit
La Valse
Mihalovici
5 Bagatelles, Op. 37
Sarasate
Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20
Debussy
Études pour piano (6) Book 1
12 Etudes, L. 136, Book 2
Schumann
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
Romanian National Orchestra
Horia Andreescu
REVIEWS
Disc of the Year Radio Bucharest
Le Disc du Jour ArtaMag, France
“There is a splendid mix of elegance and wildness in this performance, and I would love to hear Borac play more Ravel.” Fanfare, USA
“I would have left it there but the endearingly unpredictable Borac leaves Enescu for a second well-filled CD with both books of Debussy’s Études followed by Schumann’s Piano Concerto. By no means are either of these mere also-rans but vivid and compelling readings that belie their studio origins. … the Concerto is a joy from beginning to end, tender and exuberant in equal measure… of this ever-resourceful and imaginative pianist.” Gramophone
“Luiza Borac aura beaucoup servi la cause d’Enesco, deux disques de Suites et de Sonates en témoignent. Cette sonorité pleine, cette technique impeccable qui lui permit de remplacer au pied levé Sviatoslav Richter en 1991 au Festival de Schleswig-Holstein, son sens des couleurs indiquaient une pianiste à suivre.
Elle y ajoute absolument ce qui est de sa volonté, et sa fantaisie est d’abord française : un Gaspard de la nuit joué à l’instinct prouve la musicienne, les Bagatelles de Mihalovici, roumain de Paris, sont des merveilles qui plaident pour la redécouverte de son œuvre.
Mais la perle de cet ensemble ce sont les Études de Debussy où un somptueux Steinway éclate de couleur et de sensualité sous ce toucher opulent, véritable orchestre. Je n’y avais pas entendu à un tel point ce faune inextinguible que seul avant elle Walter Gieseking avait su montrer derrière ces exercices qui sont des humeurs et aussi des paysages. Admirable.
Mais la perle de cet ensemble ce sont les Études de Debussy où un somptueux Steinway éclate de couleur et de sensualité sous ce toucher opulent, véritable orchestre. Je n’y avais pas entendu à un tel point ce faune inextinguible que seul avant elle Walter Gieseking avait su montrer derrière ces exercices qui sont des humeurs et aussi des paysages. Admirable.
»Sie überzeugt durch virtuoses, dabei aber meist geschmeidiges und unaufdringlich gestaltendes Spiel …« Fono Forum, Juni 2017
Elle y ajoute un fragment retrouvé de Schumann, et enregistré pour la Radio Roumaine, un fringant Concerto de Schumann, fusant, vif, aérien, vous n’allez pas me croire mais tant pis, simplement un des meilleurs que j’ai jamais entendus.“
ArtaMag
“Ascoltando Luiza Borac, interprete di preziosa misura per il modo con cui trasforma il suo ben evidenti virtuosismo in eloquente musicalità, sembra di veder ricomporsi in un’ideale continuità quell’arcata tracciata dai grandi pianisti della sua terra, che l’hanno preceduta, la Haskil, Lipatti, Lupu.” La Gazzetta di Parma
“Luiza Borac ist eine intelligente Virtuosin die immer kluge und besondere Programme spielt. Sie ist aber auch eine Vollblut Musikerin, die am Klavier auch mal die Sau rauslassen kann… mit diabolischer Virtuosität, ironischem Augenzwinkern und nonchalanter Eleganz…” Nordwest Radio
“For the past few years, I’ve been following the recordings of pianist Luiza Borac, both for their repertoire and artistry. It was clear from her previous recordings that she may well be a major artist of consequence. Her Chopin Etudes showed that she had all the virtuoso chops you could want along with something strong and individual to say about the music.
I think she has become best known in the States, however, for her Enescu recordings, which have raised his piano pieces from curiosities to music one needs to know. As brilliant as her recordings have been, there has been the danger that she might be typed, save for the Chopin and a Schubert Wanderer impossible to find stateside, as someone whose value will be filling in gaps in the repertoire rather than the full blown artist she is. Her latest CD, “Inspirations and Dreams” for Profil takes care of that, and I think establishes her as someone you must hear. It opens with her beloved Enescu, but then goes strength to strength in Ravel, including La Valse, and the Debussy Etudes. This is territory well trod by by all the names you know, but she brings her own views and strengths to this music, and at every turn I was hearing Ravel and Debussy in a new way. The thing that has me looking forward to Borac’s recordings, especially when I’m on the road, is there is always a sense of communication. It isn’t that she imposes structures on pieces that aren’t there, but you are well aware of being in her presence, as if this is not just a performance but as if she needs to tell you something about the music that is personal to her and to you as you hear it. If I could compare that sense to anything it would be what it is like when someone reads a passage from a book or a poem that is especially meaningful to them in the hopes that it affects you as it has them. She has all the virtuoso tools, as is obvious in Enescu’s own transcription of his First Romanian Rhapsody, but they are always in the service of imparting something to the listener. As it would hardly be a Borac recording without something you have never heard before, she adds five Bagatelles by Marcel Mihalovici, a composer I have barely known for one orchestral piece, his Tragic Overture. It is well worth knowing, and I can’t imagine him having a better champion. Finally, along with an encore of sorts of Schumann’s Ahnung, there is the surprising edition of the Schumann Piano Concerto. It seems out of place , except that it is necessary for us to understand Borac’s range. Other than You Tube clips I have not heard her in a major masterwork concerto, and even if the thought was to add this as a calling card for symphony bookers, it isn’t long into the a minor concerto before you are glad to add this to your collection of performances by better known pianists,. This is a totally winning collection by a pianist you should know, because of the pleasure and artistry they bring. A final note: on the back of the CD, among the causes she is connected to, is a logo for End Polio Now. OK, as a polio pioneer [I was one of the 3 year olds they tested the vaccine on] I may be more emotionally and intellectually invested in that cause than most, but it is evidence that the heart I hear in these performances is not just a matter of interpretation, but is at the core of the artist herself.“
Gil Gross, USA, Radio personality NBC, CBS, KKSF
Gil Gross, USA, Radio personality NBC, CBS, KKSF