Tom Borrow Named a BBC New Generation Artist

Tom Borrow, the fast-rising Israeli pianist, has this week been named to the BBC New Generation Artists scheme (BBC NGA). One of the most prestigious such schemes in the world, the BBC NGA selects a handful of prodigious young international talents every two years. The NGAs are then offered a wide range of performing and developmental opportunities, across the BBC orchestras, Wigmore Hall, the Aldeburgh Festival and others, including multiple broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. Previous NGA pianists include, variously, Benjamin Grosvenor, Igor Levit, Jonathan Biss, Paul Lewis, Beatrice Rana, Ingrid Fliter, Paul Lewis, and Simon Trpceski.

The first engagement of Borrow's NGA tenure will come this August, when he plays the Ravel Piano Concerto in G, in Belfast with the Ulster Orchestra, under conductor Jac van Steen. The Ravel concerto was the work with which Borrow leapt to attention in a last-minute jump-in (for Khatia Buniatishvili, herself also a previous New Generation Artist) with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, in 2019. He will play the concerto again, for his Cleveland Orchestra debut under Semyon Bychkov, in a series of concerts this November.

Borrow, a protege of Murray Perahia and student of Tomer Lev, Director of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University, has been named "One To Watch" by both Gramophone and International Piano magazines ("Tom Borrow is...the very definition of 'one to watch'").

He has twice been reinvited to the Israel Philharmonic, and recently made his debut with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra under Maestro Bychkov (televised by RAI). He is also due to make debuts with the Cleveland Symphony, London Philharmonic, Sao Paulo Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, 'La Verdi' Milano, Basque National Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony and English Chamber Orchestra - and with conductors including Bychkov, Thierry Fischer, Robert Trevino, Xian Zhang, Maxim Emelyanychev and Omer Wellber. He makes his Verbier Festival debut this July, and recital/chamber music appearances will include Wigmore Hall, the Vancouver Recital Society, Seattle Chamber Music Series (alongside James Ehnes), Bellerive Festival (Geneva), Festival Piano aux Jacobins (Toulouse) and Israel Conservatory of Music (Tel Aviv).

Borrow was recently at Henry Wood Hall in London, making his first recording for Hanssler Classic, Germany's largest independent classical music label. The recording will be released later this year.

Of joining the BBC New Generation Artists, Tom Borrow says, "Being asked to join such a select list of artists is an incredible honour. But beyond that, the way this whole scheme has been created is, perhaps uniquely in the world, an incredible asset for a young musician. Not only do we get to play with some truly great orchestras, at incredible venues and for wonderful audiences both in the halls and over the airwaves, but through all of that we get the space to hold the music close, to live with it. really get to know it. That is a rare and great gift. And I hope also that I will have the privilege of playing alongside some of my fellow BBC NGA's, which would be another and equally wonderful gift. I am deeply grateful to the BBC for what I know will be a wonderful journey, and is already a fantastic opportunity."

WATCH This week also sees a newly-released YouTube performance of Tom Borrow playing Chopin's Polonaise-Fantaisie, filmed at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv.

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