“One inevitably thinks of Arthur Grumiaux when listening to Hugues Borsarello play Mozart” (Diapason – Sept. 2015): these words alone sum up the exceptional instrumental talent of this brilliant and charismatic violinist.
Ease, fluidity, elegance, precision, and subtlety of interpretation are among the musical qualities regularly associated with his name; but it is above all his luminous tone and his airy playing that win unanimous acclaim from critics, peers, and audiences alike.
His infectious joy in sharing music and his ability to foster a true synergy between soloist and orchestra earn Hugues Borsarello the natural support of his partners. In this regard, the warm reception given by critics to the album released in 2014 on Arties / Harmonia Mundi, featuring the complete Mozart concertos with La Follia—Orchestre de Chambre d’Alsace, is a true reflection of this.
Regularly invited as a soloist (Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne, Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, Astana Symphony Orchestra—Kazakhstan), his repertoire ranges from the concertos of Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Sibelius to the virtuoso works of Saint-Saëns, Kreisler, Chausson, Sarasate, and Paganini.
As Artist-in-Residence with the Orchestre National de Bretagne during the 2020–21 season, Hugues Borsarello has since been a regular partner of the ONB, with whom he has performed notably in Brahms’s Double Concerto with Gautier Capuçon on cello, as well as in Bach’s Double Concerto, Saint-Saëns’s 3rd Concerto, and Mozart’s 1st Concerto.
Invited by Rolando Villazón to perform alongside pianist Paul Montag at the prestigious Mozartwoche in Salzburg in 2020, where they presented a program of Mozart’s sonatas for violin and piano, Hugues Borsarello is now continuing this collaboration throughout Europe (Ghent, Montreux, Berlin...).
Among his solo engagements during the 2022–23 season, Hugues Borsarello will perform alongside the Orchestre National Avignon Provence in Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
His upcoming album of Miniatures, dedicated to the French repertoire, will be released in early 2023 on Alpha / Outhere.
Hugues Borsarello, together with Gautier Capuçon, initiated the album Symphonie pour la Vie, dedicated to healthcare workers during the recent pandemic under the patronage of the Fondation des Hôpitaux de France.
This project has since continued in the form of a television program in support of the Pièces Jaunes campaign, in collaboration with a large number of renowned artists such as F. Braley, A. Tharaud, J. Ducros, B. Chamayou, N. Dautricourt, N. Radulovic, L. Berthaud, E. Moreau, Y. Cassar, P. Jarrousky, and N. Dessay.
Born into a family of musicians, Hugues Borsarello began studying the violin with his father at a very young age.
During his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he studied under Patrice Fontanarosa, his passion for orchestral music led him to join the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, with which he performed under the baton of Claudio Abbado, Seiji Ozawa, and others.
At the same time, his existing interest in chamber music took shape in the form of a piano trio, which he founded with David Saudubray and Gautier Capuçon.
Having joined the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra as a principal violinist at the age of 20, he built on his orchestral career through various stages.
Regularly invited to serve as concertmaster by various ensembles (the Lille National Orchestra, the Brittany Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Opera House in London, and others), it was only natural that he became, starting in 2009, concertmaster and artistic director of La Follia – Orchestre de Chambre d’Alsace, as well as artistic advisor to the Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux beginning in 2016.
His passion for chamber music has led him to perform at numerous festivals in France (Folle Journée de Nantes, Festival du Périgord Noir, Deauville Easter Festival, etc.) and abroad (Barbican in London, NCPA in Mumbai, Kioi Hall in Tokyo, etc.) alongside renowned musicians such as François-René Duchâble, Gérard Caussé, Gautier Capuçon, the Modigliani and Van Kuijk quartets, Olivier Charlier, Denis Pascal, François Dumont, as well as Philippe Bernold and Juliette Hurel.
This career as a chamber musician is complemented by his solid experience as a string quartet player, serving as first violin in the Léonis, Elysée, and Volta quartets, the latter of which he co-founded with Laurent Manaud-Pallas, Arnaud Thorette, and Gauthier Herrmann.
In addition to his extensive career as a performer, Hugues Borsarello is also passionate about the science of sound, particularly acoustics.
In the field of electroacoustics, he works on the design and production of high-end speaker systems and associated electronics, as well as recording and studio equipment.
He founded the company Audiosophie, owner and manufacturer of the Musique-Concrète brand, which was awarded the title of “best listening experience” at the Munich Expo in 2010 by the American press for its La Grande Castine system.
In the field of stringed instrument making, in 2012 he conducted an experiment with the Musical Acoustics Laboratory at Pierre and Marie Curie University (Sorbonne Universities) aimed at understanding the projection of both historical (Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù) and modern violins in sonata and concerto settings with an orchestra.
Recently, Hugues Borsarello designed the entire audio and video system as part of the design and installation of the RIFFX studios at La Seine Musicale in Boulogne-Billancourt.
Hugues Borsarello plays a violin by V. Ruggieri, ca. 1695, and a bow by Léonard Tourte, ca. 1790.
Hugues Borsarello is supported by Corelli-Savarez strings.
