On 25th January 2025, the Jersey Chamber Orchestra presents a programme featuring the legendary violin soloist Boris Brovtsyn, under Eamonn Dougan's baton, JCO’s Chief Conductor. Boris Brovtsyn takes the stage for Mendelssohn’s beloved Violin Concerto in E minor, bringing to life the lyrical beauty and technical demands of this masterpiece.
Boris Brovtsyn has established himself as one of the most profound and versatile musicians of his generation. He is in ever-increasing demand all around the world as both concerto soloist and chamber musician. His repertoire includes over fifty violin concertos and hundreds of chamber works, some of which he premiered. He is a frequent guest at "Les Grands Interpretes" chamber music series in Geneva and Spectrum Concerts Berlin, where he has appeared in every season since 2008.
He has performed with, among others, Sir Neville Marriner, Vladimir Jurowski, Neemi Jarvi, Marek Janowski, Jan Pascal Tortelier, Alexander Vedernikov and Michael Sanderling; with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, London Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, the Royal Danish Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Berliner Rundfunk, São Paulo Symphony, Academie of St. Martin in the Fields and the BBC Symphony, Philharmonic and Scottish orchestras.
Please give us a few personal/background details.
Up to a point, I had the very typical Russian/Soviet musical upbringing, And then, from my early twenties, I became a kind of nomad. I lived in a bunch of different places, spent a decade and a half in London, then lived in Lithuania for a while, and now I live in Austria where I also teach.
Which music institutions do you teach at in Austria?
I teach at the ‘Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna’ which is a rather large, well-established institution run by the City of Vienna. I have very interesting colleagues such as Julian Rachlin, Boris Kuschnir, Pavel Vernikov, highly established musicians and professors.
What do you consider incisive moments in your career? Moments that changed you or majorly impacted you and your playing or the direction of your career. Were there any moments like that?
Yes, I suppose so... I mean, no man is an island, and I'm no exception to that rule. And, of course, I was very much shaped by the people who taught me. I’m a fourth generation musician and was surrounded by music, and that was, of course, huge for me. I wouldn't call it ‘a leg-up’ in terms of benefitting me networking wise, but it did in terms of absorbing music and almost having this idea of it being an integral part of one's life. It is only when you grow up that you realise there are people who don't play musical instruments! So that's the kind of my upbringing, what my childhood was like. Then, other incisive moments were my more mature studies. I owe a lot to my professor in Moscow, Maya Glezarova. We've just celebrated her 100th anniversary. She passed away about seven years ago and she taught up until the very end. Also, I spent a few years in London at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, studying with David Takeno who also very much shaped me in terms of how I approach the music that I play and how I communicate my ideas. Then, of course, are the musicians you meet along the way once you are on your path. Conductors, chamber music partners… I must say, I have been especially lucky in terms of my chamber music partners. I don't want to single out anyone, I just feel like everyone has somewhat contributed.
Talk to us about you coming to Jersey in January 2025 to perform as a soloist with the Jersey Chamber Orchestra. It is not the first time you perform in Jersey, is it?
No, not the first time; I've been to Jersey a few times, when I was still based in the UK. I've performed at the Liberation Festival at least three times, if not more!
Why does music matter so much to you, why do you think it matters so much for society, especially classical music (‘classical music’ in its broad term)?
First of all, I think classical music is one of the most misleading terms that I can think of. I prefer the more clumsy way of putting it… let's say, music that stood the test of time. Yeah. Sure. There is of course an academic element to it. We don't really get people in our profession who in their twenties decide to pursue music, by sheer will, as it were. And in a couple of years, they are accomplished musicians. This doesn't work in our profession! There is quite a bit of gatekeeping and it’s there for a good reason. I mean gatekeeping in terms of what constitutes a professional. I suppose the importance for me personally is that life can be very confusing and quite daunting, in a way. And I know for a fact that music has helped me to deal with a lot of stuff. And I'm hoping that it might be the case with other people as well. And I think these experiences can be quite transformative, quite informative and also just overall useful. I think I got some answers from music that I couldn't have gotten from other mediums like speech or even philosophy, let's say. I'm not saying it's a higher form of art. Instead, I'm just saying there are different paths to solutions or realisations or concepts. And music to me is definitely one such path. And I'm trying to do what I can to make it available for others.
Do you play any other instrument/s by any chance?
I play the piano, but only in so far as to accompany my students and demonstrate some ideas.
If you were speaking with a child who has not ever heard or seen ‘live’ a string instrument or a piano or any instrument, what would you say to that child is very special about strings and the violin in particular?
I'm not trying to keep anything secret, but I think in order to arrive at an answer to this question one has to experience things rather than go into it with some preconceived notions or some particular expectations. I think giving my own reasons might actually not help other people at all! Having said that, I can say that with the violin there was a desire to come up with some sort of imitation of the human voice… And string instruments do it better than other instrument families.
What can we look forward to from you next? Commissions, performances, recordings, other projects?
My goal is to have traditional, stable work in music. And I am fortunate enough to have this in my life in the form of a variety of activities such as concerts, conservatoire/university teaching and masterclasses. I'm quite conservative in a way, not in a sort of rigid way, but more in terms of recognising certain traditions in music that are worth preserving. I don't go into the practice room or the concert hall with the thought of how can I come up with something new, but rather with the attitude that here is a work that's been in our repertoire for one or two centuries or even more. How can I do it justice? That is sort of where I'm coming from. I don't know how that that approach can be pigeonholed, but, that's the kind of value that I strive for.