Visit this artist's website: http://www.johannes-moser.com

Praised for his rich, gorgeous tone and playing that can range from lovely and elegant to vigorous with head-banging, rock star energy, German-Canadian cellist JOHANNES MOSER has been hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists.” Johannes has performed with the world’s leading orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, London Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony and Israel Philharmonic. He works regularly with conductors of the highest level including Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Jurowski, Franz Welser-Möst, Manfred Honeck, Christian Thielemann, Pierre Boulez and Paavo Jarvi.

Exciting upcoming engagements in the 2012-2013 season include tours to Japan and Australia as well as performances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and with the Moscow Philharmonic under Semyon Bychkov who has also invited Johannes to play with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe on tour. 

As one of his main themes for the upcoming season, Johannes chose the Lutoslawski Cello Concerto in honor of the composers centennial. He will perform this work with the Bournemouth Symphony, SWR Stuttgart, BBC Scottish Symphony, Bilbao Symphony, Galicia Symphony and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Johannes has gained a reputation for his variety of repertoire, ranging from core cello repertoire to lesser known works, much of it recorded on his extensive award-winning discography on Hänssler Classics. His affinity for new music has brought him much attention from leading conductors such as Pierre Boulez, who invited him to make his U.S. debut with the Chicago Symphony on the Rands Concerto. Johannes is an enthusiastic advocate for the electric cello which he uses to explore new possibilities in sound as well as for improvisation. In  October 2012 he premiered “ Magnetar”, a concerto for electric cello by Enrico Chapela, which Johannes performed with Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. In summer 2012 Johannes undertook a major tour of South America, including a second performance of “Magnetar” with the Sao Paolo Symphony under Marin Alsop. In addition to the Chapela concerto Johannes premiered the Electric Cello Concerto by French composer Fabrice Bollon in 2011 and is constantly striving to inspire contemporary composers to write for both the electric and the acoustic cello

Johannes is committed to reaching out to young audiences, from kindergarten to college and beyond. From his 2010 American tour with toy pianist Phyllis Chen “Sounding Off: A Fresh Look at Classical Music”, to outreach activities on campuses and performances in alternative venues, Johannes aims to present classical music in terms with which young adults can connect.

A dedicated chamber musician, Johannes has played with Joshua Bell, Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Menahem Pressler, James Ehnes, Midori and Jonathan Biss. He has also performed at many festivals including the Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, Gstaad and Kissinger festivals, the Mehta Chamber Music Festival and the Colorado, Seattle and Brevard music festivals.

Johannes has received two ECHO Klassik awards and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for his recordings on Hänssler Classics. His concerto debut disc, which features the complete works of Saint-Saëns for cello and orchestra with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, was honoured as one of Classics Today’s Top 10 CDs of 2008. Following an album of works by Britten, Bridge and Bax, a disc of Martinu, Hindemith and Honegger concerti received great acclaim and was listed for the prestigious “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik”. The latest concerto album of the Britten Cello Symphony and the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with WDR Cologne and Pietari Inkinen was released in January 2012.

Born into a musical family in 1979 as a dual citizen of Germany and Canada, 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. He holds a professorship at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, Germany and enjoys playing a Andrea Guaneri Cello from 1694 from a private collection..

A voracious reader of everything from Kafka to Collins, and an avid outdoorsman, New York-based Johannes Moser climbs mountains in his free time and has crossed the Alps on his mountain bike.