Supreme Art of Counterpoint and bold Innovation

Macchiette Medioevali Op. 33 Kind. 194 (1895)

1 Dama
2 Cavaliere
3 Paggio
4 Guerriero
5 Astrologo
6 Trovatore

7 Fantasia contrappuntistica Kind. 256 (1910)

8 Zehn Variationen über ein Präludium von Chopin Op. 22 (2. Version) Kind. 213a (1922) 

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. The character pieces of the Macchiette Medioevali clearly take Schumann's Album für die Jugend (Album for the Young) as their model. They reflect the late-Romantic idealization of the people who lived at court in the Middle Ages. In the Astrologo (The Astrologer) there is a certain mystical atmosphere and a polyphonic compositional style modelled on Bach. These elements are also frequently found in Busoni's late works. 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. The variations on the chorale "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" open the piece. These are followed by three fugues from the unfinished Contrapunctus XIX, which Busoni however altered and expanded. An intermezzo of mystical and visionary character leads over to three variations, that reintroduce the main themes. A cadenza consisting of broad arpeggios prepares the fourth fugue, in which all the themes are taken up and combined once more. The Choral from the beginning of the piece sounds out again transfigured, and turns into a stretta that leads to the magnificent and powerful finale. The artist here deliberately avoided pure transcription, the form for which he was unfortunately far better known than the composer Busoni. His unique musical personality shaped a kind of contemplation and rediscovery of the aspects of Bach's work. The Ten Variations on a Prelude by Chopin are intended for the concert hall, and are modeled on Brahms's cycles of variations. The second version of the variations heard on this recording corrects some of the youthful exuberance and achieves greater depth of expression without compromising the concert effect.

Giuseppe Mariotti