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 New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra, 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.

The 2011-12 season opens with Johannes’s debut with the Berlin Philharmonic playing the Schumann concerto with Zubin Mehta who hand selected Johannes to perform for his 50th Anniversary concert. Johannes goes on to perform the world premiere of Enrico Chapela’s Electric Cello Concerto “Magnetar” with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Other upcoming engagements in the next season include performances with the Bamberg Symphony, New World Symphony, Gurzenich Orchestra in Cologne, Atlanta and Dallas Symphony orchestras, the NDR Symphony Orchestra of Hannover, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and many international recitals and workshops including a lunchtime concert at London’s Wigmore Hall. He wraps up the season by performing the Chapela Concerto with the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo – who also took part in the commissioning of the work – under Marin Alsop.

Johannes has gained a reputation for his exquisite performances of lesser-known repertoire, 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 addition to the Chapela premiere in the coming season, Johannes premiered the Electric Cello Concerto by French composer Fabrice Bollon in 2011 and is constantly striving to inspire contemporary composers to write for the instrument.

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 honored as one of Classics Today’s Top 10 CDs of 2008. Following an album of works by Britten, Bridge and Bax, his most recent recording, a disc of Martinu, Hindemith and Honegger concerti has received great acclaim, recently listed for the prestigious “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik”. His next concerto album of the Britten Cello Symphony and the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with WDR Cologne and Pietari Inkinen will be 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, New York-based Johannes Moser climbs mountains in his free time and has crossed the Alps on his mountain bike.