DALLAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERTMASTER EMANUEL BOROK RETIRES
2009-2010 SEASON WILL BE BOROK'S LAST WITH THE DSO
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Emanuel Borok and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra announce today that Borok will retire upon completion of his current 25-year tenure on August 31, 2010. Borok remains concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony throughout the summer and will perform with the DSO during their residency at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
Emanuel Borok, concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 1985, has had a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader and Grammy-nominated recording artist. Before coming to Dallas, Borok served for 11 seasons as associate concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and concertmaster of the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Douglas W. Adams, president and CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, said, "We are very grateful for the enormous contributions Emanuel Borok has made to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and to the community. His absence onstage and within the halls of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center will be felt immensely."
During Borok's tenure with the DSO, he performed with the orchestra during four successful European tours and five Carnegie Hall appearances. Borok also performed with the DSO in numerous recordings including the Grammy-nominated recording of Tchaikovsky in 1996 and the Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice Award Winner in 2004 featuring Rachmaninoff's piano concertos. A native Latvian, Borok has called Dallas home since 1985 and currently serves on the faculty of the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University.
When discussing the recent transformation of the orchestra, Borok remembers coming here 25 years ago. "My dream was to one day be able to say, yes this is a world class orchestra. Now, that dream has come true!" Borok continued, "It has been a long and exciting ride. Now that I am leaving this orchestra to dedicate myself to teaching and playing my violin as soloist and chamber musician, I am grateful for the chance I was given by the Dallas Symphony to participate in its artistic growth and I want to give special thanks to my colleagues who were there with me all these years."
Borok's future plans include a special appearance at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam this June with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Jaap van Zweden. Van Zweden will again lead Borok in a performance of Alexander Raskatov's Violin Concerto dedicated to Borok's violin's 400th birthday. Borok's violin was made in Cremona, Italy in 1608 by the brothers Hieronimus and Antonio Amati. The Concerto received its world premiere with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under the baton of van Zweden in April of 2009 to much acclaim.
ABOUT EMANUEL BOROK
Emanuel Borok, concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 1985, has had a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader. Before joining the Dallas Symphony, Borok served for 11 seasons as associate concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and concertmaster of the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Born and trained in the Soviet Union, Borok received his early musical instruction at the renowned Darzinya Music School in Riga, Latvia, and the Gnessin School of Music in Moscow. In 1964, he became the prizewinner of the most important National Violin Competition in the former Soviet Union. In 1971, he won the position of co-concertmaster in the Moscow Philharmonic.
Since emigrating to the U.S. in 1973, Borok has appeared as soloist in Israel, Canada, France, Italy, Norway, Germany, Venezuela, Mexico, Switzerland, Holland and throughout the United States, including Carnegie Hall. His solo appearances have included the Bach Double Concerto with Yehudi Menuhin, Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with Pinchas Zukerman and Brahms' Double Concerto with Janos Starker. Concerto and chamber music appearances include the Summit Music Festival in New York; Settimane Senese and Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy; Gstaad, Switzerland; La Jolla and Montecito, California and many others. Borok has performed with such distinguished artists as Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Shlomo Mintz, Lynn Harrell, Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Christopher Hogwood, Joshua Bell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Cho-Liang Lin, Sarah Chang and Paul Neubauer. Borok was also featured in the Distinguished Artists Recital Series at the 92nd Street Y in New York.
In 1999, a recording in which Borok took part in by the Dallas-based new music ensemble Voices of Change, Voces Americanas, was nominated for a Grammy Award. Other recordings include Shostakovich's Violin Sonata with Tatiana Yanpolsky, the solo in Vivaldi's Four Seasons with musicians from the Boston Symphony and Beethoven's Archduke Trio with pianist Claude Frank and cellist Leslie Parnas, a recording honored by Ovation Magazine as record of the year. Recent recordings entitled A Road Less Traveled and Songs for a Lonely Heart, both released to critical acclaim, included seldom-performed concertos by Joseph Haydn and romantic pieces for the violin. Borok has also published a book of original cadenzas for all five Mozart Violin Concertos with Theodore Presser, Co.
In addition to his highly active performance life, Borok has established himself as an internationally recognized teacher. He has taught at the Tanglewood Music Center; Academia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy; the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland; the Royal Conservatory and Academy of Music in London; Conservatoire de Paris; Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Moscow; and the Academy of Music in Prague. In the summer of 2005, he was invited to teach at the famous Verbier Festival in Switzerland.
Borok is scheduled to appear in June of 2010 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Jaap van Zweden in a performance of Alexander Raskatov's Violin Concerto, dedicated to Borok's Amati violin's 400th birthday.
Borok currently serves on the faculty of the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
ABOUT THE DALLAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, under the leadership of Music Director Jaap van Zweden, presents the finest in classical and pop music, new music and family and holiday concerts at the internationally heralded Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. As the largest performing arts organization in the Southwest, the DSO is committed to the pursuit of uncompromising musical distinction through innovative and classical programming, seeking to enlighten and inspire the broadest possible audience. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the DSO's involvement with the City of Dallas extends to educational programs, community concerts, complimentary ticket distribution and children's programming. The DSO has grown from a 40-person ensemble to a world-class orchestra since its inception in 1900, and continues to be the cornerstone of the burgeoning Arts District in downtown Dallas; a district now noted as the largest in the nation.
