Hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists”, German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser has performed with the world’s leading orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, BBC Philharmonic at the Proms, London Symphony, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Tokyo NHK Symphony, Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras with conductors of the highest level including Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Jurowski, Franz Welser-Möst, Christian Thielemann, Pierre Boulez, Paavo Jarvi, Semyon Bychkov, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Gustavo Dudamel.
His recordings include the concertos by Dvořák, Lalo, Elgar, Lutosławski, Dutilleux and Tchaikovsky, which have gained him the prestigious Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and the Diapason d’Or and Gramophone commented “[Lutosławski and Dutilleux Cello Concertos]…Anyone coming afresh to these masterly works… should now investigate this new release ahead of all others…”. In August 2019 his latest release featured the works of Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn with Alasdair Beatson, Piano.
In the 2019/20 season, highlights include two world premieres of Cello Concertos by Andrew Norman with the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel and Bernd Richard Deutsch’s with the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich conducted by Yutaka Sado to include performances in Vienna (Musikverein), Grafenegg Festival, the Festspielhaus St. Polten and additional performances with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Johannes will also return to the London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony and Boston Symphony Orchestras as well as to the George Enescu Festival with the Oslo Philharmonic.He will also perform at the season opening concerts of both the Ulster Orchestra (Elgar’s Cello Concerto conducted by Daniele Rustioni) and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galacia with (Saints-Saens Cello Concerto Conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk).
European touring will include with the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, Württembergische Kammerorchester Heilbronn (Play-direct) and Metamorphosen Berlin.
A dedicated chamber musician, Johannes has performed with Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Jonathan Biss, James Ehnes, Vadim Gluzman, Leonidas Kavakos, Midori, Menahem Pressler and Yevgeny Sudbin. Johannes is also a regular at festivals including the Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, Gstaad and Kissinger festivals, the Mehta Chamber Music Festival, and the Colorado, Seattle and Brevard music festivals.
Renowned for his efforts to expand the reach of the classical genre, as well as his passionate focus on new music, Johannes has recently 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, and in the following season he continued this relationship with the orchestra performing Michel van der Aa’s cello concerto Up-close. Throughout his career, Johannes has been committed to reaching out to all audiences, from kindergarten to college and beyond. He combines most of his concert engagements with masterclasses, school visits and preconcert lectures.
Born into a musical family in 1979, Johannes began studying the cello at the age of eight and became a student of Professor 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 the Rococo Variations. In 2014 he was awarded with the prestigious Brahms prize.
A voracious reader of everything from Kafka to Collins, and an avid outdoorsman, Johannes Moser is a keen hiker and mountain biker in what little spare time he has.
Johannes Moser plays on an Andrea Guarneri Cello from 1694 from a private collection.
“I have always loved teaching as an integral and essential part of being a musician, for me it is a passageway to dive deeper into the
mysteries of music making through the interaction with a student.”
It is a true privilege for me to share my knowledge and my years of experience, which I continue to expand through my active concertizing life. I hold a professorship at the Hochschule in Cologne, Germany.
