Beethoven & Schubert: The Last Sonatas Benjamin Moser

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Sonate for Klavier No. 32 c-moll / in C Minor, Op. 111:
• 1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111: I. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato 09:21
• 2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111: II. Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile 18:04
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Sonata for Piano No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960:
• 3 Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960: I. Molto moderato 15:44
• 4 Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960: II. Andante sostenuto 09:29
• 5 Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960: III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace con delicatezza – Trio 04:08
• 6 Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960: IV. Allegro, ma non troppo 08:56
• Total Runtime 01:05:42

Info for Beethoven & Schubert: The Last Sonatas

Benjamin, for your new CD recording you have selected Beethoven’s and Schubert’s very last piano sonatas. Why have you chosen these works specifically, just now, in 2014?

The question is justified, particularly since they have been recorded by great masters on countless occasions. In view of the great artistic maturity required to climb these twin Himalaya peaks of piano repertoire, it is often said – quite rightly, no doubt – that the older the performer, the better.

But after having devoted my first two studio recordings to Russian and French music respectively, I found it important to finally bring out an album devoted to Viennese Classicism.

While I was still a student, but then particularly during the last three or four years, I’ve been intensely studying Beethoven’s last sonatas and I’ve often performed Op. 111 in concert. ... ( read more in the booklet)

Benjamin Moser, piano

Benjamin Moser
came to international attention in June 2007 as a prizewinner in the prestigious Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, in which he received the prize for the best interpretation of Tchaikovsky, as well as the audience prize. In January of that year he also won first prize in the International Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York, as well as eight additional special prizes and recitals in, among other venues, Paris (Gulbenkian Centre), Washington (Kennedy Centre) and New York (Carnegie Zankel Recital Hall).

Since then, Benjamin has performed regularly, both in solo recital, and as soloist with orchestra. These performances include the Tchaikvsky concerto at the Dubrovnik Festival, concertos by Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt and Tchaikovsky in the Munich Herkulesaal and in the Alte Oper Frankfurt with the Munich Symphony Orchestra. In 2008 he performed Rachmaninov's Paganini Variations with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He played Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie under Andris Nelsons. He has also played this concerto in the Tonhalle Zurich, with the Polish Chamber Philharmonic with conductor Wojciech Rajski, and again in 2011 for the Marienbad Chopin Festival. In addition, he has played concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Grieg and Rachmaninov and recitals with works by Bach through to contemporary composers throughout the US and in Argentina, Germany, England, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.

As guest performer, Benjamin Moser has been invited to many important festivals, including the Bodensee Festival, the Alpenklassik Festival, the Lucerne Festival, the Klavierfestival Ruhr (to which he was reinvited for 2013), and most recently in the YCA chamber music festival in Tokyo and Beijing. The concert at the Ruhrfestival was recorded and broadcast nationwide by the Deutschlandfunk. This recording was released on CD by the Klavierfestival and was included in the March 2012 issue of Fonoforum.

Concerts in 2012 and 2013 included performances at the Bodenseefestival, at the Deutschlandfunk in Cologne, in the Hamburg Laeizhalle with Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, and at the Theater Karlsruhe, where he played the Bartok Rhapsody for piano and orchestra. In 2013, as part of YCA´s diamond concert, Benjamin played Liszt´s first piano concerto at New York´s Alice Tully Hall. He was immediately reinvited to play at the Klavierfestival Ruhr in 2014 and 2015. Further concerts in 2015 include 6 Mozart concertos in Japan, the Mozart double concerto with the MDR Radio Orchestra and several others. He also enjoys playing chamber music. He has played several concerts with various ensembles, collaborating with highly-regarded soloists such as Nicolas Altstaedt, Julian Steckel and his brother, Johannes Moser.

In 2009 Benjamin made his debut recording with a CD of Russian piano music (with works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Medtner and Prokofiev) with Munich-based label OehmsClassics, to critical acclaim. His second CD with French piano music by Debussy and Ravel was released in 2012, again through OehmsClassics and received excellent reviews. His third album with the final sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert will be released in spring 2015 under the AvI Classics label.

In January 2010 he recorded Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Bamberg Symphony for the Bavarian radio. Many of his concerts have been recorded by radio stations, by the BR, SWR, RBB, Deutschlandfunk, Radio WQXR New York among others.

The young pianist, born in 1981 in Munich, hails from a family of musicians. He commenced his studies as a teenager at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Munich with Professor Michael Schäfer, before continuing with Professor Klaus Hellwig at the Universität der Künste Berlin.He was also greatly inspired by his work with Dimitry Bashkirov, Fu Tsong, Stanislav Ioudenitch and since 2012 Alfred brendel in London. During his studies in Berlin he won first prize in the Artur-Schnabel piano competition in Berlin and in 2003 he was a recipient of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes' scholarship. In 2005 he received the Steinway Prize Berlin. He was also a recipient of scholarships from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and the Deutsche Musikrat.

Booklet for Beethoven & Schubert: The Last Sonatas