Great Performers: Benno Moiseiwitsch

His character was certainly not lacking in wit, and his devil-may-care attitude didn't always sit well with establishment types: his prankish nature led to his dismissal from his local academy. When he was moved to London to live with family, he was not accepted at Guildhall School of Music because it was deemed they had nothing to teach him, so he went to Vienna to study with the great Theodor Leschetizky. The venerable teacher's gift for highlighting the individuality of his students made him an ideal mentor for young Benno.

With a career spanning over half a century, Moiseiwitsch would eventually settle in England, and in 1946 he was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his many performances he had given during the war. The recording pioneer cut discs over the nearly five decades from 1916 to 1961. While the primitive sound quality of early discs is not as faithful to the pianist's gorgeous singing sonority as his later accounts, every performance finds his meticulous approach fused with a spontaneity and freshness enhanced by his burnished tone, masterful pedal technique, and impeccable timing.

Moiseiwitsch's readings of Beethoven and Weber are marked by their nobility, lyrical phrasing and sparkling finger work. But the pianist was at his best in the great Romantic works, his noble approach and refined nuancing infusing his readings of Chopin with warmth, elegance and clarity. Schumann was his favourite composer and his performances of these works are overflowing with emotional abandon and depth, highlighted by his soaring phrasing and shimmering tone. His Liszt was elegant and dazzling ('La Leggierezza' is breathtaking), though he could also bring humour to his performances as appropriate, as he did with his delightful Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 and his post-war recording of Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No.2. His Brahms too was noble and refined, whether in shorter compositions or the monumental 'Handel Variations', which he recorded twice.

His compatriot Sergei Rachmaninoff found a kindred spirit in Moiseiwitsch, the two bonding when the composer realized that Benno had thoroughly grasped his vision for his Prelude Op.32 No.10 - he would consider him his 'spiritual heir.' Moiseiwitsch considered his greatest recording to be his account of Rachmaninoff's knuckle-busting transcription of Mendelssohn's Scherzo from 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream': while the composer had required half a dozen takes, Benno made a single attempt and it is one of the most remarkable piano recordings ever made.

While he eschewed most modern works, some contemporaries' compositions – Medtner, Prokofiev, Khachaturian – won his favour and were played with the same inimitable panache and refinement that he brought to all of his readings. The epitome of elegance, good taste, and warmth, Benno Moiseiwitsch never fails to satisfy.

[Due to geo-blocking restrictions, some tracks might be unavailable in certain territories.]