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 Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras; as well as the Chicago Symphony, London Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Tokyo Symphony, Philadelphia, and Cleveland Orchestras. 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 Järvi, Semyon Bychkov, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Gustavo Dudamel.
In October 2012, he premiered Magnetar, a concerto for electric cello by Enrico Chapela, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on the Yamaha SVC-110SK.
Moser 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, Moser aims to present classical music in ways with which listeners of all ages can engage and connect.
A dedicated chamber musician, Moser has performed with Joshua Bell, Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Menahem Pressler, James Ehnes, Midori Goto, and Jonathan Biss. He 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.
Moser was a recipient of the prestigious 2014 Brahms prize. His recordings have earned him two ECHO Klassik awards and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Moser signed an exclusive contract with Pentatone, and in fall 2015 released his first recording for the label, an album of Dvořák and Lalo cello concertos. He has recorded the Britten Cello Symphony and Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, conducted by Pietari Inkinen, which was released in January 2012. His concerto debut album, which features the complete works of Saint-Saëns for cello and orchestra with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, was honored as one of Classics Today’s Top 10 CDs of 2008. Following an album of works by Britten, Bridge, and Bax, his album of Martinu, Hindemith, and Honegger concerti received great acclaim, and was listed for the illustrious Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik.
Born into a musical family in 1979 as a dual citizen of Germany and Canada, Moser began studying the cello at the age of 8 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, Moser is a keen hiker and mountain biker in what little spare time he has.
