Biography

Emanuel Borok, concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 1985, has had a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader. Before coming to Dallas, Mr. Borok served for 11 seasons as associate concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and concertmaster of the Boston Pops Orchestra.

Born and trained in the Soviet Union, Mr. Borok received his early musical instruction at the renowned Darzinya Music School in Riga, Latvia, and the Gnessin School of Music in Moscow. In 1964 he became prizewinner of the most important national violin competition in the former Soviet Union. In 1971, he won the position of co-concertmaster in the Moscow Philharmonic.

Emanuel Borok has made many solo appearances in Israel, Canada, France, Italy, Norway, Venezuela, Mexico, Switzerland, Holland and throughout the United States, including Carnegie Hall. His solo appearances have included the Bach Double Concerto with Yehudi Menuhin, Mozart's Symphony Concertante with Pinchas Zukerman and Brahms' Double Concerto with Janos Starker, and chamber music with Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrel, Emanuel Ax, Efim Bronfman, Christopher Hogwood, Joshua Bell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Cho-Liang Lin, Paul Neubauer and Sarah Chang. He was also featured in the Distinguished Artists Recital Series at the 92nd Street Y in New York. In addition to his highly active performing life, Mr. Borok has established himself as an internationally recognized teacher. He has taught at the Tanglewood Music Center;  Academia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy; Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland; Royal Conservatory of Music and Royal College in London; Conservatoire de Paris; Music Academy of Prague; and Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Moscow Russian Federation.

Mr. Borok has recorded the Shostakovich Violin Sonata with Tatiana Yampolsky (a recording that received a four-star rating from the Penguin Cassette Guide), the solo part of Vivaldi's Four Seasons with musicians from the Boston Symphony (named "Best of the Month" by Stereo Review Magazine), and Beethoven's Archduke Trio with pianist Claude Frank and cellist Leslie Parnas (a recording honored by Ovation).

Mr. Borok’s most recent recording, “A Road Less Traveled,” was released to critical acclaim on the Eroica label and includes seldom performed concertos by Joseph Haydn.

Mr. Borok has published a book of original cadenzas for all five Mozart Violin Concertos with Theodore Presser Co.