Busoni, Ferruccio

Preface

Ferruccio Busoni – Verzeiflung und Ergebung

(b. Empoli, 1 April 1866 – d. Berlin, 27 July 1924)

Ferruccio Busoni and the Turandot Suite Op. 41

Life, works, poetics
Italian composer, pianist, conductor and theorist mainly active in Austria and Germany, Ferruccio Benvenuto Busoni, was born and raised in a family dedicated to music: His father Ferdinando, of Corsican origin, was an excellent clarinet player; Anna Weiss, his Trieste mother of Bavarian origin, excellent pianist, gave him his first musical education, introducing him to Germanic classicism.

Having moved to Trieste, Busoni began to perform in public since 1873, playing compositions by Handel. Schumann and Hummel; in 1876 he made his debut in Vienna in the presence of Liszt, receveing acclaim from the critics of the time, including E. Hanslick and A. W. Ambros. Two years later, the family settled in Graz, where Busoni was initiated into the study of harmony, counterpoint and instrumentation with Wilhelm Mayer (W. A. ​​Remy), as well as the study of Bach and Mozart and the great romantic composers. In 1882 he triumphed with a series of concerts in Bologna, so that he obtained a diploma in composition and an appointment as academic pianist from the Accademia Filarmonica; in 1886 Busoni moved to Leipzig, where he met Brahms, Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Delius and Mahler.

His friendship with H. Riemann led him to Finland in 1888, where he obtained an appointment as piano teacher at the Helsinki Conservatory and met J. Sibelius. In the Nineties Busoni became professor at the Moscow Conservatory, since he had won the Rubinstein Prize with the Konzertstück op. 31a for piano and orchestra. Here he met Gerda Sjöstrand, daughter of the Swedish sculptor C. Aeneas, and married her. Further looking for new musical challenges, Busoni moved to Boston in 1891 and remained there until 1894, teaching piano at the New England Conservatory: this stay enhanced his concert fame. …

Full preface / Komplettes Vorwort > HERE