Benno Moiseiwitsch
Benno Moiseiwitsch (February 22, 1890 - April 9, 1963) was a pianist.
Born in Odessa in Ukraine, Moiseiwitsch studied at the Imperial Adademy of Music there and won the Anton Rubinstein Prize when he was just nine years old. He later took lessons from Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna. He first appeared in London in 1909, and later settled in England and took British nationality. His American debut was in 1919.
Moiseiwitsch was particularly noted for his interpretations of the late Romantic repertoire, especially the work of Sergei Rachmaninov (who was an admirer of his playing).
Recordings
Moiseiwitsch excels in the quiet and lyrical passages of the great romantic composersÂ’ works. An expert colorist, he brings a personal approach to the music and plays with beauty and variety of tone. He can also seem scattered and inconsistent. His talents are most evident in the music of Schumann, recorded on Testament 1023, which features the C major Fantasie, opus 17, and the Fantasiestucke, opus 12. Moiseiwitsch lets these pieces glow from within.
His Chopin is represented on Philips 456907, with the Barcarolle, two Ballades, two Scherzos, and two Nocturnes. The Barcarolle starts with a sweet, caressing motion and builds to an effective climax. This Philips set also features works by Kabalevsky, Medtner, and Prokofiev, and ends with a wonderful rendition of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. Moiseiwitsch was an early advocate of Nicolai Medtner, whose music has entered the mainstream repertoire only very recently.
Different recordings of the Brahms Handel Variations appear on Testament 1023 (from 1953) and Pearl 9135 (from 1930). The former has much better sound, but the latter disc also includes the Mendelssohn Concerto no. 1 and short pieces by Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, and Maurice Ravel.
Referenced By
Alan Bush | Odesa | Odessa | Odessa, Ukraine | Pianist | Pianists | Piano player
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