Johannes Moser: 2009-10 season

The German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser opens his 2009-10
season by making his debut with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and
Maestro Mariss Jansons, playing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1. He goes on to join the Stuttgart Radio
Symphony Orchestra in performances of the Saint-Säens cello concerto, which he
recently recorded for Hänssler Classic, to much critical acclaim. The cellist will then spend the
remainder of the fall season performing in the U.S., where highlights include a
tour with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra and Ivor Bolton; a return to the Los
Angeles Philharmonic; and an innovative tour of American universities with
performance artist and toy pianist Phyllis Chen.

Johannes Moser’s debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra on
September 16 will feature Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1. Moser has made Shostakovich’s virtuosic
concerto one of his signature pieces in recent seasons and recently brought the
work to the Saint Louis Symphony, at which the St. Louis Post-Dispatch raved:

“[Moser] is young, gifted, and intense, and his performance was absolutely searing … .
The concerto’s moods range from the otherworldly to the mournful and elegiac,
from the sarcastic to the frantic. Moser expressed them all, with a stunning display of technical
facility, leaping from the top of the instrument’s range to growling low notes
with a rich, consistent sound. Moser
is a major talent, and it is to be hoped that he’ll return in coming seasons.”

Johannes Moser will give two performances of Shostakovich’s
concerto with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam on September 16
and 17, before traveling with the venerable orchestra and Maestro Jansons to
Romania for a performance at Bucharest’s Enescu Festival in the city’s famed
Palace Grand Hall on September 20.

Before heading to Germany for performances of Saint-Saëns’s
beloved Cello Concerto with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (Oct 9 and
10), Moser will play a recital of Beethoven, Zemlinsky, and Brahms at Bonn’s
Beethovenfest (Sep 25). He will be
joined by pianist Paul Rivinius, who partnered Moser for his well-received
recordings, “Brahms and his Contemporaries” on the Hänssler Classic label.

Johannes Moser returns to U.S. for concerts with L.A. Phil and
tour with Mozarteum Orchestra

Johannes Moser will join the composer/conductor John Williams with
the Los Angeles Philharmonic on October 16 for three performances of Williams’s
suite for cello and orchestra from his Oscar^®-nominated score for the motion picture Memoirs of a Geisha. These performances mark Moser’s third
consecutive season as guest soloist with the L.A. Phil.

Next Johannes Moser moves south to Orange County Performing Arts
Center in Costa Mesa, CA, for the first step in a U.S. tour with the Salzburg
Mozarteum Orchestra, which takes the cellist to seven cities across the
country. The Mozarteum Orchestra’s
Chief Conductor, Ivor Bolton, will conduct Moser in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C
major, and the tour will culminate in a concert at New York’s Lincoln Center on
November 1, at which Moser will play Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor.

“Sounding Off: A Fresh Look at Classical Music With Phyllis Chen”

This January, Johannes Moser and his collaborator, performance
artist, and toy pianist Phyllis Chen, embark on their first U.S. tour together:
“Sounding Off: A Fresh Look at Classical Music.” The pair will travel to universities across America,
bringing classical music to the campus with their fresh and unusual take on the
creative process and concert experience.
While on campus, Chen and Moser will conduct a variety of outreach
activities and demonstrations before providing each stop with a concert at a
local alternative venue. Full
details of the tour will be released later this fall.

About Phyllis Chen

Praised
by the New York Times for her “delightful quirkiness matched with interpretive
sensitivity,” Phyllis Chen has become a trailblazer in performing original
multimedia compositions using toy pianos, electronics, and video as well as
performing works by prominent contemporary composers. Her artistic pursuits take her in numerous directions as a
toy pianist, pianist, composer, and performance artist, and led to her
selection as a New Music/New Places Fellow at the 2007 Concert Artist Guild
International Competition.

Recently,
Chen was the featured solo musician for the world premiere of Stephin Merritt’s
Off-Broadway production, Coraline, in
May 2009 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City. In this unique on-stage performance,
she was praised for her work playing multiple keyboards, both big and
small. Other recent premieres
include a commissioned work by American composer/percussionist Nathan Davis for
toy piano and clock chimes, which premiered at Symphony Space as part of the
Concert Artist Guild “New Music/New Places” Series.

As
an avid toy pianist, Phyllis founded “The Uncaged Toy Piano,” a composition
competition to expand the repertoire for toy piano and electronics. The competition has received works from
composers all around the world and the works become an integral part of her
repertoire. A strong interest in
interdisciplinary works led her to collaborations with video artist Rob Dietz,
with whom she created multimedia works such as The Memoirist, Pearlessence,
and Chroma.

Further highlights of
Johannes Moser’s 2009-10 season include returns to the Milwaukee Symphony
Orchestra, for performances of Shostakovich’s
Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, and to the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin,
playing Dvorák’s Cello Concerto in B minor. Moser will play Schumann’s Cello Concerto with the Dresdner
Philharmonie under the baton of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, first in Dresden
(Apr 23 and 25) and then on a tour of South America (May 1-15). Before heading to South America, he
will perform Lutoslawski’s formidable Cello Concerto with the Bavarian Radio
Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Franz Welser-Möst in Munich (Apr 29 and 30).

Previous season highlights

In the fall of 2008, cellist
Johannes Moser performed acclaimed concert series in Chicago, New York, and Cincinnati
and released his recording of Saint-Säens’ complete works for cello and
orchestra on the Hänssler Classic label.
In early 2009, Moser returned to the United States for performances with
the Saint Louis and Seattle Symphonies that delighted critics and brought
audiences to their feet. He is
gaining a reputation across the U.S. as a star soloist with major orchestras.

Critics across the country
have praised Moser for his “searing” performances and “displays of technical
facility.” In January 2009, he
took on Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a
Rococo Theme with the Seattle Symphony and wowed both the city’s leading
daily papers. Bernard Jacobson, of
the Seattle Times,proclaimed:

“There was no mistaking the star quality of the
soloist in the Tchaikovsky Variations:
Johannes Moser is a joy of a cellist, not only for the sheer quality of his
playing, but because it is indeed a joy to see a musician having such an
obviously good time interacting with colleagues and conductor. His encore too — the ‘Sarabande’ from
Bach’s First Suite – showed that depth is as much a part of his repertoire as
brilliance and charm.”

Meanwhile,
Philippa Kiraly of the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer raved about the performance and wrote:

“Moser’s cello, built in 1692 by
Francesco Ruggieri, has an open, easy sound, which he never hacked or pushed to
produce but simply allowed to bloom under his bow. It shone easily over the reduced orchestra for the composer’s
lighthearted, classically influenced work, and the music sang as Moser’s cascades
of runs sparkled and rippled, perfectly shaped and in tune, full of life and
charm.”

Earlier in the season,
Moser’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations”, with the Cincinnati
Symphony and conductor Alan Gilbert, gained similar praise. Janelle Gelfand of the Cincinnati Enquirer called his
interpretation “brilliant” and “something that music lovers will not soon
forget.” She continued: “Richly
communicative and beautifully played, his was the freshest, most original
interpretation I have ever heard of this showpiece, a staple of the cello
repertoire.”

These
concerts came on the heels of the success of Moser’s recent recording of Saint-Saëns’s complete cello works. Classics Today
named this CD one of the “Top Ten of 2008” and editor David Hurwitz wrote in
his 10/10 review that “Johannes Moser
plays with consummate technique, gorgeous tone, and a rhythmic kick that seems
tailor-made for these elegantly crafted pieces… . This is a major release, and
Moser is without question an artist worth watching.” The recording was also a “Pick of the Week” on WNYC radio’s Soundcheck – a rare feat for a classical
recording.

Moser completed his North
American season playing Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Los Angeles
Philharmonic and Maestro Herbert Blomstedt, and with debut performances with
the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Johannes Moser: selected engagements
2009-10

September 16 and 17, 2009

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Mariss Jansons

Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major

September 20, 2009

Bucharest, Romania

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Mariss Jansons

Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major

September 25, 2009

Bonn, Germany

Beethovenfest

Recital with Paul Rivinius, piano

October 9 and 10, 2009

Wiesloch, Germany

Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR / Michel Plasson

Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor

October 16, 17 and 18, 2009

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Philharmonic / John Williams

John Williams: Suite for cello and orchestra from the film Memoirs of a Geisha

October 22, 2009

Costa Mesa, CA