Description

FERRUCCIO BUSONI (EMPOLI, ITALY, 1 APRIL, 1866 – BERLIN, GERMANY, 27 JULY, 1924)

 

 

 

 

Ferruccio Busoni was the only child of two professional musicians: his Italian/German mother a pianist, his Italian father a clarinettist. They were often touring during his childhood, and he was brought up in Trieste for the most part. He was a child prodigy. He made his public debut on the piano with his parents, at the age of seven. A couple of years later he played some of his own compositions in Vienna where he heard Franz Liszt play, and met F. Liszt, Johannes Brahms and Anton Rubinstein. Ferruccio Busoni had a brief period of study in Graz before leaving to Leipzig in 1886. He subsequently held several teaching posts, the first in 1888 at Helsinki, where he met his wife, Gerda Sjöstrand. He taught in Moscow in 1890, and in the USA from 1891 to 1894 where he also toured as a virtuoso pianist. In 1894 he settled in Berlin, giving a series of concerts there both as pianist and conductor. He particularly promoted contemporary music. He also continued to teach in a number of master-classes at Weimar, Vienna and Basel, among his pupils being Claudio Arrau and Egon Petri. During World War I, Ferruccio Busoni lived first in Bologna, where he directed the conservatory, and later in Zürich. He refused to perform in any countries that were involved in the war. He returned to Berlin in 1920 where he gave master-classes in composition. He had several composition pupils who went on to become famous, including Kurt Weill, Edgard Varèse and Stefan Wolpe. Ferruccio Busoni died in Berlin from a kidney disease. He was interred in the Städtischen Friedhof III, Berlin-Schöneberg, Stubenrauchstraße 43-45. He left a few recordings of his playing as well as a number of piano rolls. His compositions were largely neglected for many years after his death, but he was remembered as a great virtuoso and arranger of J.S. Bach for the piano. Around the 1980s there was a revival of interest in his compositions. He is commemorated by a plaque at the site of his last residence in Berlin-Schöneberg, Viktoria-Luise-Platz 11.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Ecossaises, WoO 83 (BV B 47) (Beethoven) Columbia L 1470 76702
2. Etude in G-flat major, Op.10 No.5 (Chopin) Columbia L 1432 75059
3. Etude in G-flat major, Op.10 No.5 (Chopin)
4. Etude No. 17 in E Minor, Op. 25, No. 5 (Chopin) Columbia L 1445 76709
5. Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 (Bach) Columbia L 1445 76699
6. Hungarian Rhapsody No.13 in A minor S.244, Part 1, Part 2 (Liszt) (abbreviated) Columbia L 1456, L 1456, 76704, 76705
7. Nocturne in F-sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2 (Chopin) L 1432 76703
8. Nocturne in F-sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2 (Chopin)
9. Organ Chorale Prelude Rejoice, Beloved Christians BWV 734 (BV B 27) (Bach) L 1470 76702
10. Prelude and Fugue No.1 in C Major, BWV 846 (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I) (Bach) L 1445 76699
11. Prelude in A major, Op.28 No.7; Etude in G-flat major, Op.10 No.5 (Chopin) Columbia L 1470 75060