Mendelssohn & Mendelssohn-Hensel: Works for Cello & Piano Johannes Moser

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847): Cello Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 58, MWV Q 32:
• 1Cello Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 58, MWV Q 32: I. Allegro assai vivace07:34
• 2Cello Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 58, MWV Q 32: II. Allegretto scherzando05:23
• 3Cello Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 58, MWV Q 32: III. Adagio05:01
• 4Cello Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 58, MWV Q 32: IV. Molto allegro e vivace06:55
• Variations concertantes, Op. 17, MWV Q 19:
• 5Variations concertantes, Op. 17, MWV Q 1908:29
• Lied ohne Worte, Op. 109, MWV Q 34:
• 6Lied ohne Worte, Op. 109, MWV Q 3404:20
• Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (1805 - 1847): Sonata o Fantasia in G Minor, H-U 238:
• 7Sonata o Fantasia in G Minor, H-U 23805:38
• Capriccio in A-Flat Major, H-U 247:
• 8Capriccio in A-Flat Major, H-U 24706:40
• Felix Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 45, MWV Q 27:
• 9Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 45, MWV Q 27: I. Allegro vivace11:47
• 10Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 45, MWV Q 27: II. Andante05:27
• 11Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 45, MWV Q 27: III. Allegro assai06:25
• Assai tranquillo in B Minor, MWV Q 25:
• 12Assai tranquillo in B Minor, MWV Q 2502:09
• Total Runtime01:15:48

Info for Mendelssohn & Mendelssohn-Hensel: Works for Cello & Piano

German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser and Scottish pianist Alasdair Beatson present a moving portrait of the Mendelssohn family with this recording of pieces by the siblings Felix and Fanny. Once composed for the popular Sunday Sessions at the Berlin Mendelssohn family house, these works fit into the typically nineteenth-century tradition of domestic music-making, albeit at the highest thinkable level. Beatson plays an 1837 Érard fortepiano, identical to the instrument that belonged to the Mendelssohn household when these pieces were composed.

Besides Felix Mendelssohn’s two sonatas for cello and piano, his Variations concertantes, op. 17, Lied ohne Worte, op. 109 and Albumblatt in B Minor are featured. Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn’s Fantasia in G Minor and Capriccio in A-flat Major show what could have become of this talented female composer if societal conventions had not restricted her musical activities to the private salon.

This is Moser’s fifth album as an exclusive PENTATONE artist, after releases with the cello concertos of Dvořak and Lalo (2015), Elgar and Tchaikovsky (2017), works for cello and piano by Rachmaninov and Prokofiev (2016, awarded with a diapason d’or and ECHO Klassik 2017), and cello concertos by Lutosławski and Dutilleux (2018). He records for the first time with Alasdair Beatson, who makes his PENTATONE debut.

Johannes Moser, cello
Alasdair Beatson, piano

Johannes Moser
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, Paavo Jarvi and Semyon Bychkov.

The 2013-14 season includes debuts with the London Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Oregon Symphony and Houston Symphony as well as returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, Deutsche-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, WDR Cologne and Essen Philharmonic.

Johannes has gained a reputation for his exquisite performances and wide ranging repertoire, much of it recorded on his extensive award-winning discography.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 and in the 2013-14 season Johannes will continue this relationship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic by performing Michel van der Aa's cello concerto “Up-close”.

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 listeners of all ages 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.

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.

Booklet for Mendelssohn & Mendelssohn-Hensel: Works for Cello & Piano