Given the jet-setting life of the modern soloist, how does cellist Johannes Moser find time to contribute to the creation of new music?

“The possibilities with new technologies are amazing. I can play something live over Skype in Europe for someone writing in America, to see if it works; that’s incredible. While as a performer I like to offer my services as a ‘cellistical guinea pig,’ I don’t want to interfere too much with the composing process. There needs to be enough trust to really let each party do what they do best, then stay in close contact and conversation, and hopefully something meaningful is born.”

Citing such composers as Anna Thorvaldsdottir (whose cello concerto Before we fall he premieres with the San Francisco Sympony this month), Andrew Norman, Thomas Adès, Anders Hillborg, and Jonathan Leshnoff, Moser calls this “an incredibly exciting time for new music. The phase where people were writing music to alienate the public is almost over. There was a good reason why this happened. After World War II, with all its horrors, it was as if people didn’t want to write anything beautiful. But thanks to composers in Scandinavia, and North, South, and Central America, there are so many great influences coming into new music that make it exciting and enjoyable, and people want to hear new pieces again.”