Press

"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, 2018 Radio personality NBC, CBS, KKSF

"Chopin's 24 Etudes ..one of the most consistently admirable accounts among current complete editions" International Record Review

"Easily the best versions of those currently available...grace, radiant tone" Gramophone

"Wer den beiden klassischen Zwölferzyklen Chopins noch frische Akzente abgewinnen kann, darf sich zur Pianisten-Elite rechnen." Der Spiegel