Transformations and Transfigurations

1 Sonatina Brevis. In signo Johannis Sebastiani Magni Kind. 280 (1918)

4 Elegien Kind. 249 (1907)
2 Nr. 2 All’Italia. In modo napolitano (Andante barcarolo)
3 Nr. 1 Nach der Wendung. Recueillement (Sostenuto, quasi Adagio)
4 Nr. 4 Turandots Frauengemach. Intermezzo (Andantino sereno - Più vivo e distaccato e ritmato)
5 Nr. 7 Berceuse (Andantino calmo)

6 Sonatina super “Carmen” Kind. 284 (1920) Kammer-Fantasie über Bizets Carmen

7 Choral Vorspiel über ein Bachsches Fragment Kind. 256a (1912)

8 Nuit de Noel. Esquisse pur le piano Kind. 251 (1908)

9 Toccata. Preludio - Fantasia - Ciaccona Kind. 287 (1920)
Quasi Presto, arditamente - Sostenuto, quasi Adagio - Allegro risoluto

Ferruccio Busoni stands as a towering figure in the musical landscape of the turn of the century. His unbridled activity as a man and musician shaped his entire life, and his universal genius allowed him to reach absolute and, unfortunately often misunderstood, artistic heights. His impressive virtuosity never seemed imposing, and his avant-garde and highly original musical vision became legendary. Beloved by audiences since his youth, he often baffled critics. His later compositions in particular rank among the most important and brilliant of his time: his works for piano and especially those for orchestra and opera influenced an entire generation of musicians. He vehemently advocated for the performance and publication of works and critical essays of then-contemporary music. Arnold Schoenberg, for example, who succeeded him as teacher of the composition class at the Berlin Academy of Music, found great support in his work through Busoni. Busoni's literary education and keen intellect allowed him to write the text of his operas himself, to correspond with the greatest figures of his time, and to publish some essential works, of which the most significant is the Entwurf einer neuen Ästhetik der Tonkunst (Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music) (1907), in which he describes pioneering intuitions, such as the dodecaphonic system, microtonality, and new notation systems, and even makes predictions about electronic music. He was the inspirer of a new piano construction, namely the Imperial model of the Viennese piano manufacturer Bösendorfer, which was also used for this recording. In the years 1895 to 1907, Busoni took a creative break in the composition of piano music. In this period, in which he devoted himself intensively to his concert career, a new musical language matured almost incidentally, which found its first expression in the Elegien (Elegies). With these began Busoni's most fruitful creative phase, which the composer himself called the "Third Style". From then on, the works no longer bear opus numbers. The new means of expression of the Elegien, which stem from the late Romantic sonority of Liszt and Brahms, are refined by Busoni through new impressionistic and expressionistic intuitions. The greatest innovations of the Elegien consist of sound experiments, such as simple tonal chords juxtaposed with strong dissonances, or pure tonality alongside bitonality. 
All’Italia (To Italy) is a homage to his native country and rich in excerpts from folk songs. The most remarkable elements here are the expressive dissonances, the superimposed tonalities, and the shimmering pianistic timbres, which are almost reminiscent of Debussy (this recording uses the unpublished ending, which was prepared for Egon Petri in 1917). 
The Intermezzo Turandots Frauengemach (Turandot's Boudoir) is one of Busoni's best-known pieces. The world-famous melody "Greensleeves" is excellently suited for the new musical ideas due to its changeable tonal course. 
The enigmatic Nocturne Nach der Wendung (After the Turning) also lives from the tension that the tonalities C and F#, which are very far apart from each other, release by their constant alternation. With the Berceuse we take another look into Busoni's aesthetic world: we recognize his concept of eternity, the so-called "omnipresence of time". 
The Nuit de Noël (Christmas Night) has a similar character with its impressionistic sound colors, the bell sounds, and carols. 1910 saw the publication of Busoni's greatest and most significant piano composition: the Fantasia Contrappuntistica, which draws on J. S. Bach's Art of the Fugue. Written in 1912, the Choralvorspiel über ein Bachsches Fragment (Choral prelude on a Bach fragment) is a small version of the Fantasia Contrappuntistica using the some of the same themes. This piece was originally intended more for didactic purposes than for public performance. For Busoni, the term "Sonatina" refers to the form and length of the piece, not to its difficulty level. The intimate character of the Sonatinas and the return to simple and clear compositional schemes (which reflect the ideal form of "Young Classicism") form a contrast to the previous works. The Sonatina Brevis. In signo Johannis Sebastiani Magni is a free arrangement of the Fantasia and Fugue BWV 905, a kind of homage to Johann Sebastian Bach. Busoni composed it during his massive revision work of Bach's piano works, which were published by Breitkopf. The most famous of the Sonatinas, the Sonatina super "Carmen", has nothing to do with the opera paraphrases by Franz Liszt: Bizet's famous melodies are used as autonomous themes in the very free sonata movement. The outstanding work is permeated with fine irony and sorrow until the tragic and unusual ending. The last compositions have a close relationship to Busoni's unfinished opera, Doktor Faust, whose themes were often developed or brought to maturity in the piano works. The Toccata is his last major piano work. The piece is marked by the themes and the strong, dark colors of Doktor Faust. It is not difficult to recognize in the three monolithic sections the aspects of Faust (Preludium) and Mephistopheles (Ciaccona). The Toccata, with its austerity, its tension, and its high technical difficulties, represents a high point in Ferruccio Busoni's creative work. Next to the title stands a motto by Frescobaldi that is dedicated to the interpreter of the piece, and the truth of which Busoni was very much aware: "Non è senza difficoltà che si arriva al fine" ("Not without effort does one reach the goal").

Giuseppe Mariotti