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Johannes Moser likes how the cello can be a shield onstage. "I don’t know how violinists do it, because they are so exposed," he says. "But with the cello, you really feel like you are a fortress, it’s a nice feeling.”
Johannes Moser came to the cello as a means of escape. “The main reason for me to start playing the cello was to get away from the violin, because I really was the world’s worst violinist!”
Another major factor is that his father is a cellist. “So we had a cello in the house,” he said in an interview with the site Opus Cello. "As soon as I sat down with the instrument and felt the vibrations, I felt at home with it; it was a good feeling. Of course, even before I started playing myself, I heard a lot of the cello repertoire at home because my father would be playing all the time.
“Later on, it was the best excuse to avoid doing my math homework! My parents were OK with that as long as I was practicing my cello. It’s strange, and when I started playing electric cello [usually played while standing], I realized I didn’t have that shield anymore in front of me. I realized how much of a shield a cello can be on the stage. I don’t know how violinists do it, because they are so exposed. But with the cello, you really feel like you are a fortress, it’s a nice feeling.”
Now based in Vienna, the German-Canadian virtuoso, 45, is known for his efforts to expand the reach of classical music to all audiences and for dedication to commissioning new works for his instrument. He will perform Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in concerts Dec. 5-7, under guest conductor Dima Slobodeniouk.
When it comes to his influences, Moser has a long list. "I grew up with Mstislav Rostropovich [1927-2007] and very much Heinrich Schiff [1951-2016], who I adored. My father also was a cello hero to me. He was my first teacher so he clearly influenced me a lot. I also always loved listening to Paul Tortelier [1914-1990] and Pierre Fournier [1906-1986]. Very different players! Tortelier has a great noblesse, paired with an incredible distinction of playing. The kind of player you can listen to and think: ’I might not agree, but how convincing! Amazing!’ "
"It’s like when someone makes an argument, and you think you may think differently but the argument is so well presented, it becomes very convincing. His Don Quixote is fantastic because he is Don Quixote in that moment. I think I love musicians who really become the piece they play. It’s the same when you see the videos of Rostropovich playing Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante or Britten’s Cello Symphony, the identification with the music is so on the spot. I think that’s amazing.
“Of course, the drug when I was a teenager was Shafran,” he said, referring to Russian cellist Daniil Borisovich Shafran (1923-1997). "And my teacher got really strict with me. People count years before Jesus and after Jesus [BC/AC], but for me, there was cello playing before Shafran and after Shafran!
"I came into my lesson trying to use that style of vibrato one day, and my teacher said: ’What you are doing is Shafranism. Don’t do it.’ I love his Second Kabalevsky concerto, it’s absolutely amazing. But once again, he is a player who identifies so much with what he is playing that he is very compelling. It’s also funny being a teacher now, if I have to think about what I would actually recommend because I want to advise something that just grabs me. As professional musicians, we tend to become so analytical."
Moser believes that’s also the appeal of Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987). “People were just grabbed by her playing. It is still true today, so many female players were inspired by her.”
Also high on his favorite cellists list are Lynn Harrell and Yo-Yo Ma. “I love Lynn Harrell’s Herbert concerto, and of course I grew up with Yo-Yo Ma, too.”
The first cellist he saw in concert, besides his father, was Heinrich Schiff. “I had just started playing the cello, I was 8 years old, and Schiff was playing Dvořák,” Moser said. "I remember this redheaded guy came onstage, and when he played the first note, he turned purple! As an 8-year-old, I thought: ’This is so good!’ ”
In 2010, Moser took some lessons with Schiff because he was playing the Lutosławski Cello Concerto. “Schiff is a champion of that work. I played it for him, and afterward he talked for three and half hours! That was the best cello lesson I ever got. He dissected every part of the piece, I have the highest respect for him.”
