Philippe Borer


Philippe Borer is a Swiss violinist, scholar and teacher.

Biography

Philippe Borer studied the violin and the viola under Max Rostal, Ruggiero Ricci and Jan Sedivka and has held various positions as member of orchestras and chamber ensembles in Switzerland, Italy and Australia. In addition he has carried out research in the areas of violin pedagogy, violin history and philosophy of music, receiving his PhD in 1995. From 1998 he has performed with a curved bow, his polyphonic repertoire comprising works by Marini, Westhoff, Bach, Paganini and Bach Bachtischa. His first performance of the Bach Chaconne with the curved bow took place in December 2000 in Saint Petersburg as part of the final concert of the 4th international conference “Blagodatovskiye chteniya”. Since 2007 he has been giving masterclasses at the Novgorod State University, the Mozarteum Salzburg and the University of Alberta. In 2016 he formed a violin and piano duo with French master musician Jean-Claude Frey.
Borer has recorded contemporary music for violin and viola, premiering works by Don Kay and he is the dedicatee of several compositions for violin and viola by Michael Bach Bachtischa. His former students include Christophe Horak of the Scharoun Ensemble, Dr Angela Lohri, the author of Kombinationstöne und Tartinis «terzo suono» and Beth Hebert, West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s first violinist.

Writings

Philippe Borer currently plays on a copy of Paganini's ‘Il Cannone Guarnerius’ crafted by Alberto Giordano, a 2003 Pietro Capodieci violin and a 1948 viola by Jean Werro. He uses a classical bow made by Luc Breton and two curved bows built at the Atelier BACH.Bogen in Stuttgart.