About
The freedom, the mobility of colours, the length of the bow, one might say, of his playing testify to an absolute mastery of the keyboard.
Born in 2003, pianist Roman Borisov is one of the most compelling voices of his generation. In October 2022, he won First Prize at the Kissinger Klavier-Olymp as the competition’s youngest participant. The jury praised his “highly musical, intuitive yet structurally aware interpretations of works by Liebermann, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Brahms and Prokofiev”, highlighting his uncompromising artistic vision and his natural, compelling stage presence.
Borisov’s musical journey began at the age of four, when a perceptive kindergarten teacher introduced him to the legendary piano pedagogue Mary Lebenzon at the Novosibirsk Conservatory. She remained his mentor until 2020. Early success in children’s competitions earned him, among other distinctions, a scholarship from the Spivakov Foundation. Since then, Borisov has established himself internationally, performing at leading venues and festivals including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus Berlin, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Flagey Brussels, Verbier Festival, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Isarphilharmonie Munich and the Wiener Konzerthaus.
Recent and upcoming orchestral collaborations include the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Orchestra i Pomeriggi Musicali, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, SWR Symphonieorchester and Kammerakademie Potsdam, working with conductors such as Ryan Bancroft, Kent Nagano, Bar Avni, Tabita Berglund, Ariane Matiakh, Joseph Bastian, Nil Venditti, Howard Griffiths, John Axelrod and Holly Hyun Choe.
Highlights of the 2026/27 season include return engagements with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Thomas Søndergård and the hr-Sinfonieorchester under Roberto GonzálezMonjas, both in Frankfurt and on tour, alongside solo recitals at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Philharmonie Luxembourg.
His chamber music partners this season include the Quatuor Modigliani, soprano Erika Baikoff and cellist Jaemin Han, with performances at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kölner Philharmonie, Nikolaisaal Potsdam and Konzerthaus Dortmund.
In 2022, at the invitation of the Orpheum Foundation Zurich, Borisov recorded Mozart’s Piano Concertos K.413 and K.415 with the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien under Howard Griffiths as part of Alpha Classics’ complete recording of the Mozart piano concertos, released in 2023. His debut solo album, featuring works by Franck, Godowsky and Rachmaninov, followed on Alpha Classics in winter 2024/25 to widespread international acclaim.
Driven by an insatiable musical curiosity, Borisov explores a repertoire that reaches beyond the central European and Russian canon to embrace composers including John Corigliano, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Leopold Godowsky, Lowell Liebermann, Brett Dean, Grażyna Bacewicz and William Bolcom.
Alongside First Prize at the Kissinger Klavier-Olymp, Borisov has received numerous distinctions, including prizes at the Vladimir Krainev Youth Competition (2019), the Tabor Foundation Award of the Verbier Festival Academy (2019) and the Luitpold Prize of the Kissinger Sommer (2026).
A committed advocate for children’s rights, Borisov has collaborated with Save the Children since the beginning of his career. In September 2025, together with Save the Children, Konzerthaus Dortmund and Deutsche Welle, he conceived a piano marathon marking Universal Children’s Day, performing all 840 repetitions of Erik Satie’s Vexations alongside children and young people from the region. The project received a nomination for the BDKV Best of Live Award. In April 2026, he participated in the charity auction Art with Impact in Berlin and continues to support the organisation’s work.
An alumnus of the Verbier Festival Academy (2019), Borisov received the Tabor Foundation Award as the piano department’s outstanding graduate. There he worked with Sir András Schiff, Klaus Hellwig, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Joaquín Achúcarro and Sergei Babayan. Since 2022, he has been based in Berlin, where he studies with Eldar Nebolsin at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin.