Mateusz Borowiak - New York Recital Debut

[Donald Isler]

Mateusz Borowiak, Pianist – New York Recital Debut
Merkin Hall, New York City
Sunday, November 5th, 2017

Pelosi: Sonata No. 4 in B

Chopin: Etudes, Op. 10

Chopin: Etudes, Op. 25

Pelosi: Sonata No. 6 in C-Sharp/D-Flat


Mateusz Borowiak is a young Polish/British pianist whose career has taken him all over Europe and Asia though he was, heretofore, not known in America. Hopefully, that will now change. He is the “real thing,” ie a thoughtful, sensitive musician who is also a virtuoso.

His Chopin Etudes were marvelous! He started off with a brisk performance of Op. 10, No. 1, followed it with the very leggiero No. 2, the deeper, and slower No. 3, and a No. 4 that wasn’t quite as fast as Richter, but close! Other particularly impressive readings included the light and charming No. 8, the elegant No. 11, with its rolled arpeggios, the powerful Op. 25, No. 10 octave etude, and the brilliant last two etudes of that set. There was a great deal of meaningful music-making, including the timing of pauses between etudes, shadings and color. The audience reaction, not surprisingly, was very enthusiastic.

The two sonatas of Louis Pelosi, which began and concluded the program, were world premieres. Pelosi’s music is not easy to describe, or categorize, but is more rewarding the deeper one gets into it. It is tonal, though not in the traditional sense, on a high intellectual level, and full of depth and passion. He loves the sound of the piano, does wonderful things with motives, and elaboration on those motives, and has a special interest in fugal writing. (This should not be surprising as his works include a set of Preludes of Fugues, and another composition entitled 37 Inventions, Canons and Fugues on an Original Motif.) Borowiak was the very effective messenger of this music, and one hopes that audiences here, and elsewhere, will have further opportunities to hear it.

Oh, did I refer to this concert as Borowiak’s New York recital debut? This program was actually just Part One of his debut. He will return to Merkin Hall on Wednesdnay evening to play Pelosi’s Sonatas No. 1 and 5, plus the Debussy Etudes, and again this coming Sunday, when he will play Pelosi’s Second and Third Sonatas, plus the Rachmaninoff Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 39.

Mateusz Borowiak is just getting started in New York.................



Donald Isler