Biography
Cello
Johannes Moser
Born into a musical family in 1979, German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser began studying the cello at age eight and became a student of David Geringas in 1997. He was the top prize winner at the 2002 Tchaikovsky Competition, in addition to being awarded the special prize for his interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. In 2014 he was awarded with the Brahms Prize.
In the 2018-19 season, Mr. Moser is Artist-in-Residence with the Bournemouth Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony, and the Oregon Symphony, undertaking a diverse range of projects including concerto and solo performances, education and outreach activities, and a chamber orchestra tour directed from the cello. Other highlights of the season include his debuts with the Vienna and Oslo philharmonics and return engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Atlanta Symphony. He tours with the New Zealand Symphony performing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 and a selection of the Bach Cello Suites in recital, followed by concerts at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Melbourne Symphony, and in recital at the Sydney Opera House. This season he also appears in recital with pianist Till Fellner in North America.
In 2017 Mr. Moser won his third ECHO Klassik award as Instrumentalist of the Year for his Russian recital disc on the Pentatone label, for whom he records exclusively. His other recordings include concertos by Dvořák, Lalo, Elgar, and Tchaikovsky, which have gained him the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and the Diapason d'Or. November 2018 saw the release of his disc featuring the Lutosławski and Dutilleux concertos recorded with the Berlin Radio Symphony and Thomas Søndergård.
Renowned for his efforts to expand the reach of the classical genre, as well as his passionate focus on new music, Mr. Moser has been heavily involved in commissioning works by Julia Wolfe, Ellen Reid, Thomas Agerfeld Olesen, Johannes Kalitzke, Jelena Firsowa, and Andrew Norman. In 2011 he premiered Magnetar for electric cello by Enrico Chapela with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel (also heard that year in a Great Performers Series concert as part of Mr. Moser’s debut under San Francisco Symphony auspices). The following season he continued his relationship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing Michel van der Aa's cello concerto Up-close.
A voracious reader of everything from Kafka to Collins, and an avid outdoorsman, Mr. Moser is also a keen hiker and mountain biker. He plays on an Andrea Guarneri cello from 1694 from a private collection.
(January 2019)
