Description

BENNO MOISEIWITSCH (ODESSA, RUSSIAN EMPIRE, 22 FEBRUARY, 1890 – LONDON, GREAT BRITAIN, 9 APRIL, 1963)

Born in Odessa, Russian Empire, in present-day Ukraine, Moiseiwitsch began his studies at age seven with Dmitry Klimov at the Odessa Music Academy. He won the Anton Rubinstein Prize when he was just nine years old. He studied with Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna from 1904 to 1908, then joined his own family in England, making his English debut at Reading in 1908, his London debut the following year. He toured the United States (first in 1919), Australia, India, Japan, and South America. Moiseiwitsch was invited by Director Josef Hofmann to teach at the Curtis Institute of Music in 1927. He settled in England and took British citizenship in 1937. Moiseiwitsch was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1946, for his consistent contributions during the Second World War, performing hundreds of recitals to servicemen and charities. He married Daisy Kennedy, an Australian concert violinist, and had two daughters, Sandra and the set designer, Tanya Moiseiwitsch. He and his second wife Anita had a son, noted New Zealand National Radio broadcaster Boris Moiseiwitsch. He was a friend of Nikolai Medtner and commissioned the Piano Concerto No. 3 “Ballade” (1940–43). Moiseiwitsch was particularly known for his interpretations of the late Romantic repertoire, especially the works of Sergei Rachmaninoff (who was an admirer of his playing and referred to Moiseiwitsch as his “spiritual heir”). At the piano, Moiseiwitsch was noted for his elegance, poetry, lyrical phrasing, brilliance, rhythmic freedom, and relaxed virtuosity. He made recordings for His Master’s Voice (now EMI) starting in the 78RPM shellac era, continuing with long-playing records and into the early stereo era. His distinctive style can be heard in his recording of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the Barcarolle, Ballade No. 4 and Nocturne, Op. 62 of Frédéric Chopin. In 1950 critic and musicologist Irving Kolodin said about the Ballade in F minor of Chopin played by Moiseiwitsch: “A featherweight touch in the opening section of this work, an apt feeling for its “once upon a time” narrative quality give Moiseiwitsch pre-eminence among present day interpreters…”, thus summing up the sensitivity of the playing by Benno Moiseiwitsch. He worked meticulously and amicably as a chamber musician, including in Rachmaninoff’s Trio Élégiaque and Cello Sonata in G minor. American critic Harold C. Schonberg praised Moiseiwitsch’s formidable technique and free approach to the music, adding that such freedom was “always tempered by impeccable musicality.”

TRACKLIST

1. Ballade No. 1 in G minor Op.23 pt 1 (Chopin) HMV C3101 2EA6725 1938-09-23
2. Ballade No. 1 in G minor Op.23 pt 2 concl. (Chopin) HMV C3101 2EA6726 1939-03-17
3. Chanson Triste Op.40 No.2 (Tchaikovsky) HMV C3466 2EA10615 1945-10-05
4. Concert Study F min – La Leggerezza (Liszt) HMV C3227 2EA9233 1941-01-21
5. Fantasie Impromptu C#min Op.66 (Chopin) HMV C4184 2EA16233
6. Intermezzo in C major (Brahms) HMV E538 Bb10908 1927-05-25
7. Liebestraum, No.3 (Liszt) HMV C3197 2EA8893
8. Nocturne E minor Op.72 No.1 (Chopin) HMV C4184 2EA16232
9. Nocturne in E flat Op.9 No.2 (Chopin) HMV C3197 2EA8892
10. Vogel als Prophet -The Prophet Bird Op.82 No.7 (Schumann); Scherzo E min Op.16 No.2 (Mendelssohn) HMV C3227 2EA9313 1941-05-13
11. Waltz in E minor (Chopin) HMV E538 Bb9849 1927-01-24
12. Tannhauser Overture (Wagner-Liszt) HMV 2EA6073/4, 2EA6075, 2EA6076 C3002/3 28-01-1938, 17-02-1938, 2-03-1938
13. Isoldes Liebstod (fragment) (Wagner-Liszt) HMV Cc12804 D1941 2-03-1928
14. Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C sharp minor (Liszt) HMV 2EA8868, 2EA8884 C3192 9-10- 1940
15. Etude de Concert No.2 in F minor (Liszt) HMV 2EA9233 C3227 31-03-1941
16. Etude caracteristique Op.2 No.6 (Henselt) HMV Bb7026 E427 10-12-1925