Duo Yana Borisova & George Ross
The duo Ross & Borisova is an emerging ensemble on the European music scene whose goal is to explore mainly, but not exclusively, the repertoire for cello and fortepiano from the late 18th century and the 19th century. Lately their focus has been the works for cello and piano by Mendelssohn and Schumann. Amongst their previous engagements the duo has given performances of works by Beethoven and Chopin. Being passionate about discovering new interpretative approaches and expressive devices, Yana and George are inspired by their research into historical recordings and experimenting with the wide range of the new performance possibilities which the recordings reveal. In addition to the already established romantic works, the duo reaches further into the greatly imaginative and unique but lesser- performed works of other 19th century composers such as George Onslow and Hummel. Yana, being also a harpsichordist and George, an established baroque cellist, the duo is looking forward to present their interpretations of the baroque repertoire as well.
Yana Borisiva – harpsichord & fortepiano
A graduate from the Juilliard School of Music in New York, Yana Borisova is already successfully establishing herself onto the Dutch music scene and enjoying its rich music life. She already had her debut at the Residentie Orchest’s Chamber Music at the Nieuwe Kerk concert series and most recently performed in Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ and TivoliVredenburg. In addition, she has been heard in concerts at the Oude Lutherse Kerk in Amsterdam, the Scheepvaartsmuseum and at the Fringe concert series at the Utrecht Early Music Festival. In collaborations with international musicians she has also participated in projects in Germany and Denmark.
Being brought as a classical pianist, Yana completed an honouree bachelor degree in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. There, she had the honour to learn from one of the most distinguished pianists and pedagogues of our time – Sergei Babayan. In Cleveland, she also discovered the harpsichord and joined the world of historical performance. She was accepted with a full scholarship into the master’s degree program at the Juilliard School in New York. As a student there she had the opportunity to work with some of the most celebrated musicians in the early music field including Masaaki Suzuki, Jordi Savall, Ton Koopman, Richard Egarr, and Monica Huggett and perform in concert halls such as Alice Tully Hall, New York; Esplanade, Singapore; the Tokyo Opera House. During her studies as well as in summer courses and master classes she had lessons with Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Béatrice Martin, Ketil Haugsand, Skip Sempé, Jörg-Andreas Bötticher, Harry Bicket, Riccardo Minasi, Jaap ter Linden, Emma Kirkby.
Native of Bulgaria, Yana keeps strong connection with the cultural and music life in her country and regularly performs there as well. She has appeared several times at the Sofia Baroque Arts Festival, the MODO concert series and the art forum for antique/contemporary music, visual arts, theatre and dance 180 degrees in Sofia.
Currently, Yana is continuing her early keyboards studies with Richard Egarr at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam where she explores the repertoire on both harpsichord and fortepiano.
George Ross – cello
George Ross is a British cellist, specialising in period instrument performance, having recently completed his master’s studies at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague where he
received lessons from Jaap ter Linden. Having attained a first class honours for his Bachelor of Music degree at the Royal College of Music in London,George has worked with such groups as The King’s Consort, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Arcangelo, the Hanover Band, Florilegium, the Lawes Baroque Players and the Carillon Choir.
As well as performing orchestrally, in March 2016 his string quartet, the Consone quartet won the Ensemble Prize at the Royal Over- Seas League Competition and in 2015 they gained two prizes at the International Young Artists Competition at the York Early Music Festival; the EUBO Development Trust prize and a place on the Eeemerging Scheme 2016. The Consone quartet is also on the Brighton Live!
The Consone quartet is also on the Brighton Live! Scheme for which they will perform at the Brighton Early Music Festival this autumn. The quartet has also performed for a Radio 3 programme, “Between the Ears”, and in 2013 was awarded the Century Fund Prize in the RCM Historical Performance competition. Next year Consone will give recitals at the York Early Music Festival, the Buxton Festival and the Wigmore Hall in London.
A keen soloist, George was on the Handel House Talent Scheme 2015, which enabled him to give solo recitals at the Handel House Museum in Brook Street, London. He has performed at the Wigmore Hall as a soloist and in chamber groups on numerous occasions. Other solo performance venues include the Mayfair Arts Club, St John’s Smith Square, St. Martin-in-the- Fields, St. George’s Hanover Square, Hatchlands House and the Corn Exchange in Newbury.
George was a student at the Purcell School where he studied with Alexander Boyarsky. During his time there, he won prizes in Porec, Liezen, Marlow Festival Concerto Competition, was awarded the Martin Musical Scholarship fund and was given the Pierre Fournier prize in 2009. In the same year, he won a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music, and, whilst continuing to work with Boyarsky on modern cello, also cultivated a passion for the baroque cello, which he studied with Richard Tunnicliffe.
Geelvinck Fortepiano Festival 2017
Yana Borisova and George Ross will perform as a duo with two recitals in the Geelvinck Fortepiano Festival 2017
