About

Biography

Picture: Jorge Carmona

Born in Vila Nova de Gaia in 1994, Pedro Borges is considered one of the most prominent Portuguese young musicians of his generation.

He began studying piano at the age of six at the Conservatório Regional de Gaia, where his musical talent became evident early on. He completed his studies in Rui Pintão’s class with the highest mark and distinguished himself as a soloist in two appearances with the Orquestra Filarmonia de Gaia, under conductors André Vieira and Giuseppe Lanzetta, performing Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto. At that time he worked privately for three years with Moldovan pianist Serghei Covalenco.

At the age of 17, he met Professor Miguel Borges Coelho, with whom he studied for four years at the Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo in Porto. In addition to his inspiring and thoughtful piano lessons, several important activities in his development are worth highlighting, such as his two-year engagement as a choir member at CLUP – a local choir in Porto consisting mostly of amateur musicians – working closely under the guidance of the conductor José Luís Borges Coelho; various chamber music activities with Professor Ryszard Woycicki; and the musical analysis lessons with Professor Miguel Ribeiro Pereira.

After completing his studies in Porto, Pedro moved to Switzerland to study with the prestigious professor Claudio Martínez-Mehner at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel. He was as well accepted into Professor Anton Kernjak’s chamber music class and works with both of them in a long and in-depth process over six years. In 2020 he was awarded the Kiefer Hablitzel Göhner Musikpreis in Bern (pre-lockdown) and also the Ageas New Talents Award in Porto (post- lockdown), and since then he has performed regularly as a soloist and chamber musician in Portugal and Europe, appearing at venues such as the Theatro Circo Braga, Casa da Música (Porto), Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona), Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (Lisbon), the Muziekgebouw (Amsterdam), and at various international classical music festivals. Private and intimate performances such as house concerts or concerts in smaller venues are very much appreciated in Pedro’s concert life. As a student, he performed several times in private house concerts, as well as in nursing homes.

During the summers of 2018 and 2019, Pedro was invited to participate in the chamber music festival “Yellow Barn” in the United States of America, performing a series of seven concerts each edition. His performances were described by the artistic director Seth Knopp as “memorable”. He was also part of the teaching faculty of the “Young Artists Program” in 2019, where he coached high-talented young musicians in several chamber-music groups.

He has appeared on stage with important musical personalities, including violinist Anthony Marwood in quartet, pianist Pedro Burmester in four hands, as well as cellist John Myerscough, with whom he collaborated closely with the Australian composer Brett Dean.

In 2021, he was accepted at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin to study in the class of the highly renowned pianist Kirill Gerstein, with whom he studied for two years. In September 2022, he was awarded the “Steinway-Förderpreis für Berliner Klavierstudenten“, after a successful concert at the piano house in the German capital. In February 2023, Pedro was awarded the “Helena Sá e Costa Prize” by his alma mater ESMAE in Porto, having performed with the University‘s Orchestra and conductor Jan Wierzba the Brahms’ 1st Piano Concerto.

Alongside his work as a concert pianist, Pedro is a piano teacher at the Musikschule Riehen in Basel, where he lives since 2016.

“Con passione, that is how one could describe the general interpretation with which Pedro Borges approaches Brahms: not dragging, inwardly moved, striving to harmonise the line play with the poetic-emotional developments: right up to the last intermezzo, a dark E-flat minor Dies-irae conclusion, after which there are first a few seconds of silence. (…)”

Dr. Frank Piontek, Kulturbrief aus Bayreuth, July 2022, Brahms Op. 118