Moritz Moszkowski (1854–1925) was born into a wealthy Polish Jewish family in Breslau, Prussia (now Wrocław, Poland). A pianist of extraordinary talent, he started performing publicly at a young age, and after his family relocated to Dresden he was able to pursue his professional aspirations at the conservatory there. As a teenager Moszkowski moved to Berlin, providing him the momentum to fulfil his pianistic education as well as to embark on a lucrative career as a composer. After studying at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Berlin, Moszkowski was invited by director Theodor Kullak to accept a position there. In 1875 he began teaching at the Berlin Conservatory, where he had a number of notable students, namely Joaquín Turina, Frank Damrosch, Ernest Schelling and many others who would become important twentieth-century musicians as conductors, pianists, composers and pedagogues. Moszkowski travelled throughout Europe as a concert pianist, performing at times with Franz Liszt, but he was also known to be a highly competent violinist and well-respected conductor. He was briefly married to Henriette Chaminade, pianist and sister of composer Cécile Chaminade, with whom he had two children. He later moved to Paris with his daughter Sylvia and kept his residence in France until his death. As a widely sought-after pedagogue, he kept a piano studio of formidable talent; his students included Josef Hofmann (founder of the Curtis Institute), Vlado Perlemuter, Wanda Landowska and Gaby Casadesus. In the 1880s, due to a neurological issue affecting his arm (caused by a rigorous practice schedule of up to ten hours per day), Moszkowski stopped touring as a recitalist and focused his attention on composing, conducting and teaching piano and composition lessons.

Much like Chopin, Moszkowski was a pianist of extraordinary ability and great technique who composed well over 200 short works – mostly small-scale ‘salon pieces’ for piano that were wildly popular in their time, as they could be performed by novices in their parlours as well as by famous pianists on the concert stage. As Aimée M. Wood, in a short notice on the composer for Etude Magazine (1900), noted, Moszkowski benefited from the ‘infus[ion] of the romantic movement in German poetry into musical composition’, which meant that the ‘musical short story’ or short salon piece or dance would find public favour over longer forms.Footnote ¹ Despite this, Moszkowski did compose a number of longer works, including two concertos – the best known, the Piano Concerto in E Major op. 59, was dedicated to his pupil Josef Hofmann; an early, lesser work, the Piano Concerto in B Minor op. 3, was thought to be lost, but was recently revived (2011) and published (2013). Moszkowski’s accomplishments as both a pianist and violinist shine through in his works for violin and piano, namely the Zwei Concertstücke op. 16 (1878), Suite for Two Violins op. 71 (1903) and Four Pieces op. 82 (1909), while his artistry as a great melodist is preserved in numerous transcriptions, including Five Spanish Dances c. 1876/79 (arr. Émile Sauret), Etincelles op. 36, no. 6 (arr. Heifetz), Guitarre op. 45, no. 2 (arr. Pablo de Sarasate), and Serenata (arr. Fabian Rehfeld), all widely used as concert showpieces.

The German pianist Joseph Moog has proven to be a pianist of exceptional ability, with lightning-fast technique and a sensitivity of a far more mature artist than his years suggest. Moog has released at least nine recordings at the time of this review (for the labels Claves Records, ONYX, PM Classics/Onyx, CAvi-music and Animato), and this season he will release the complete piano sonatas of Chopin, which I am certain will be stellar. Moog’s concerto repertoire is extensive, and he has performed worldwide to critical acclaim. No surprise, then, that this recording of Moszkowski and Grieg concertos for Onyx was a 2016 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo nominee. The pairing of Grieg and Moszkowski is apt, as both of their concertos call for some of the most extraordinary technical proficiency but contrast bravura performance with hauntingly beautiful melodic strains. Although the Grieg concerto is well known, the Moszkowski concerto has rarely appeared on record (this is only the third). With his great sense of humour, Moszkowski wrote in a letter (1910), ‘I should be happy to send you my piano concerto but for two reasons: first, it is worthless; second, it is most convenient (the score being 400 pages long) for making my piano stool higher when I am engaged in studying better works’.Footnote ² That’s hardly true, but nonetheless shows the composer’s charming personality and sense of humour – also apparent in his music. A stark contrast, the wildly popular Grieg concerto is perhaps one of the most recorded works of the genre. In both performances, Moog has a way of commanding the listener’s attention with sharp, piercingly accurate cascading runs and extraordinary rhythmic clarity. He also shades his performances with a palette of vibrant colours, which enliven his interpretations of the more sensitive melodic strains. One particularly notable passage comes in the transition from the Andante to the Scherzo in the Moszkowski concerto, which he handles with expert deliberation. The ending of the Scherzo is an extraordinary display of pianistic pyrotechnics, one that introduces the final movement, Allegro deciso, as a grand celebratory finale. Already familiar with the work, I did not expect to hear anything new in Moog’s performance of the Grieg concerto, but I was certainly mistaken. Moog has such a clear conception of its structure: every move, every choice is deliberate, contributing to his interpretation of the entire concerto. His flawless technique is a marvel, but this technical skill is buttressed by a comprehensive understanding of the work’s metrical complexity, its harmonic phrasing, and its form.

The young Azerbaijan-born British violinist Nazrin Ridishidova and pianist Daniel Grimwood have given us more Moszkowski in their gem of a recording of the composer’s works for violin and piano. (Much of my career as a pianist is spent collaborating on stage with violinists, so this album was especially interesting to me.) The album features a number of salon pieces written by Moszkowski, some written for violin and piano, and others in the aforementioned arrangements by violinists Sauret, Heifetz and Sarasate, as well as by pianist Fabian Rehfeld. Throughout the album, the violin and piano are equal partners. Grimwood is a collaborative pianist of the highest calibre, possessing great sensitivity while maintaining an unflaggingly steady sense of rhythm throughout all the works. Rashidova performs on this album with perfect technique and razor-sharp intonation. Her seductive sound is full of colour and charm, and she performs throughout the album with a mature understanding of the music. The Five Spanish Dances are charming, performed with sparkling wit and flair. Each of the Four Pieces op. 82 possess a unique character, contrasted by tempo fluctuations and long, languishing melodic strains. In these pieces, in particular, Rashidova and Grimwood perform together with complete understanding of what the other is thinking. This is the case, too, with the Zwei Concertstücke, also very beautifully played. Sometimes the simplest rhythms – for example, ‘oom-pah-pah’, or perhaps the bolero – are the hardest for an accompanist to play, because they must be strict, yet they also must be sensitive to the soloist’s expressive tempo fluctuations. Alongside Spanish Dances, the Suite for Two Violins is perhaps one of the best-known works on this album. Although it is performed here with majesty and flair, I wish Rashidova had played only one of the violin parts and chosen another violinist to perform with her. The arrangement lacks the spontaneity that arises from the interaction of two violinists; a conversation becomes a monologue when one violinist plays both parts (with one obviously pre-recorded). The last three pieces – Etincelles op. 36, no. 6, transcribed by Jascha Heifetz; Guitarre op. 45, no. 2, transcribed by Pablo de Sarasate; and Serenata arranged by Fabian Rehfeld – are all performed beautifully and with the characteristic flair and technical precision that one has come to expect from the rest of the album. Rashidova and Grimwood are consummate artists, and I recommend their album highly and without reservation. I certainly hope there will be more recordings from this duo in the not-too-distant future.