Album

Because Ferruccio Busoni's reputation rests so firmly on his famous piano transcriptions, it is refreshing to hear some of his original compositions for a change; even if they are not masterpieces, they provide a few glimpses of the composer's interests beyond adapting Bach's keyboard music. This 2005 album by Neeme Järvi and the BBC Philharmonic is the second volume of a series devoted to Busoni's orchestral music, essentially covering pieces from the years 1912-1915; if one disregards the entertaining but trivial Lustspielouvertüre, Op. 38 (1897, rev. 1904), then this disc serves as a good introduction to the mature Busoni. One half expects to find a piano concerto here, and that expectation is fulfilled in the Indianische Fantasie, Op. 44, (1913-1914), a lavish work for piano and orchestra based on Hopi, Cheyenne, Laguna, Pima, and Pasamquoddy melodies that Busoni elaborated in three virtuosic movements. Similarly based on a Native American theme, Gesang vom Reigen der Geister, Op. 47, is a somber orchestral elegy designed around a Pawnee lament on the Wounded Knee massacre. The suite from the comic opera Die Brautwahl, Op. 45 (1912), closes the disc with more obvious post-Romantic fare, and the wistful waltzes and languid arias are satisfying enough, if one is in a mood for belle epoque sentimentality.

© Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

CD 1
Ferruccio Busoni Composer Lustspielouvertüre ('Comedy Overture'), Op.38, KiV 245 Work Neeme Järvi Conductor, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
1	Lustspielouvertüre ('Comedy Overture'), Op.38, KiV 245	6:28			$0.99
Ferruccio Busoni Composer Indian Fantasy, for piano and orchestra, Op.44, KiV264 Work Neeme Järvi Conductor, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Nelson Goerner Piano
2	Indian Fantasy, for piano and orchestra, Op.44, KiV264	23:24			$3.99
Ferruccio Busoni Composer Gesang vom Reigen der Geister ('Indian Diary Book 2'), Op.47, KiV 269 Work Neeme Järvi Conductor, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
3	Gesang vom Reigen der Geister ('Indian Diary Book 2'), Op.47, KiV 269	7:17			$1.49
Ferruccio Busoni Composer Die Brautwahl (Suite), Op.45, KiV 261 Work 27:14 Neeme Järvi Conductor, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
4	1.Spukhaftes Stück	3:16			$0.99
5	2.Lyrisches Stück	6:34			$0.99
6	3.Mystisches Stück	5:46			$0.99
7	4.Hebräisches Stück	8:19			$1.49
8	5.Heiteres Stück	3:19			$0.99