He died in poverty...but he left behind a masterpiece. (Moszkowski's Piano Concerto in E Major)
Revisiting one of the most underrated piano concerti of all time.
🎹 Get our FREE PDF, "How the World's Great Pianists Actually Practice"! https://campaigns.tonebase.co/piano/p...
🌟 Watch this NEXT! • How Cliburn's disruptive win exposed a mus...
Hosted, written and edited by Robert Fleitz – @RobertFleitz / rfleitz
Facebook – / tonebasepiano
Instagram – / tonebasepiano
Questions? Leave us a comment below or contact us: [email protected]
Moritz Moszkowski went from being one of the most celebrated piano virtuosi of the 19th century to dying in near-poverty, his music almost completely forgotten. In December 1921, fifteen of the greatest pianists in the world gathered at Carnegie Hall to raise money for him — Ignaz Friedman, Josef Lhevinne, Wilhelm Backhaus, Leo Ornstein, Percy Grainger and more — ending the night with fourteen pianos roaring at once (that’s roughly 11,000 strings vibrating in sympathetic chaos). They raised the equivalent of $180,000 in today’s money. Tragically, it arrived the year he died.
So how did a composer admired by Franz Liszt, dedicated to by Paderewski, and once hailed as one of the finest writers for the piano after Chopin fall so completely out of favor? And why does his radiant, unapologetically joyful Piano Concerto in E Major, Op. 59 still struggle for a place on modern concert stages?
In this video, we explore Moszkowski’s meteoric rise, his devastating fall, the changing tides of musical taste at the turn of the 20th century, and the concerto that may be his crowning achievement. We’ll look at why audiences embraced darker, more emotionally “serious” works by composers like Grieg, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff — and why Moszkowski’s brilliance, elegance, and melodic generosity may have been both his greatest strength and the reason history left him behind.
Featuring discussion of the legendary 1921 Carnegie Hall benefit concert, Moszkowski’s relationship to Liszt and Josef Hofmann, the shifting aesthetics of the early modern era, and the pianists today who are championing this overlooked masterpiece. If you’ve only encountered Moszkowski through Étincelles or as an editor of Liszt editions, this concerto may completely change your perspective.
⌛CHAPTERS⌛
0:00 A legendary night in Carnegie Hall
0:30 All-star fundraiser
0:51 Moritz Moszkowski’s unfortunate trajectory
1:26 From riches to rags
2:08 Moritz and Franz
2:28 A turn of fortune
2:47 Piano Concerto in E Major Op. 59
3:18 A neglected gem with a passionate fanbase
3:47 Changing tastes and questioned tradition
4:06 Josef Hofmann and two very different concerti
4:45 The joy of Moszkowski
5:33 A major key piece in a minor key world
6:15 Romantic tradition vs the avant garde
7:03 Paderewski on Chopin and Moszkowski
7:20 I might get cancelled for saying this…
7:50 What makes Moszkowski unique
8:25 a painter and an interior designer
8:41 a very eclectic synthesis
9:35 Moszkowski’s pianistic trademarks
10:32 Joyousness is hard to accept
11:13 Upgrade your practicing with a free PDF!
11:39 Bringing Moszkowski back to life
12:33 Pianists who have played Moszkowski
13:18 Moszkowski’s legacy
13:50 Unashamed melodies (2nd Movement)
14:20 Indifference and passion
14:49 It’s okay to want a happy ending.
15:50 What should i talk about next?
16:50 Don’t watch this part
🔍SOURCES
John Cody Haddow, "Moritz Moszkowski and his Piano Music"
Carnegie Hall Archive
#moritzmoszkowski #moszkowski #pianoconcerto #romanticpiano #forgottencomposer #underratedmasterpiece #pianohistory #classicalmusic #classicalpiano #19thcenturymusic #carnegiehall #liszt #josefhofmann #etincelles #pianorepertoire #concerto #musichistory #tonebase #robertfleitz #horowitz #raekallio #jorgebolet
莫里茨·莫什科夫斯基 모리츠 모슈코프스키 モーリッツ・モシュコフスキ Мориц Мошковский
---
tonebase gives you instant access to knowledge from the world's greatest classical musicians, performers, and educators. Learn more by visiting https://tonebase.co/piano
Facebook - / tonebasepiano
Instagram - / tonebasepiano
Questions? Contact us: [email protected]