Benno Moiseiwitsch

Benno Moiseiwitsch CBE (22 February 1890 – 9 April 1963) was a Russian/Ukrainian born British pianist.

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.

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