Ferruccio Busoni - Early Masterpieces (Holger Groschopp)

Information

Composer: Ferruccio Busoni

CD1:

• (01) Una festa di villaggio, Op. 9, BV 185
• (07) Marcia di paesani e contadine, Op. 32, BV 193
• (08) 24 Préludes pour le piano, Op. 37, BV 181

CD2:

• (01) Scherzo tratto dalla Sonata, Op. 8, BV 62
• (02) Cinq pièces pour piano, Op. 3, BV 71
• (07) Minuetto in F major, Op. 14, BV 77
• (08) Suite campestre, Op. 18, BV 81
• (13) Preludio e Fuga, Op. 21, BV 85
• (15) Gavotta, Op. 25, BV 89
• (16) Racconti fantastici, Op. 12, BV 100
• (19) Menuetto capriccioso, Op. 61, BV 124
• (20) Danze antiche, Op. 11, BV 126

CD3:

• (01) Gavotte, Op. 70, BV 152
• (02) Tre pezzi nello stile antico, Op. 10, BV 159
• (05) Preludio e Fuga, Op. 36, BV 180
• (07) Trois morceaux, BV 197
• (11) Danza notturna, Op. 13, BV 189
• (12) Macchiette medioevali, Op. 33, BV 194
• (18) Anna Weiss-Busoni - Improvvisata per piano

Holger Groschopp, piano

Date: 2020

Label: Capriccio

http://capriccio.at/ferruccio-busoni-early-masterpieces

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Review

Here are all of Ferruccio Busoni’s published piano pieces dating from his 11th through 17th years. The legendary pianist/composer may have viewed these works as youthful transgressions to be ignored, yet many possess a high degree of confidence and originality, while occasionally bearing aspects of Busoni’s mature style. Seeds of the early Piano Concerto are apparent in the dance forms prevailing throughout the Op 9 character pieces, while its third selection, ‘In chiesa’, hints at the thick, pillar-like chord-voicings that characterise his Bach settings.

The 24 Preludes, Op 37, follow Chopin’s key scheme, yet might be described as the improbable love child of Schumann and Franck. Out of the five movements of the Suite campestre, Op 18, the finale’s undulating low-register chords hold the most interest. Among works recorded here for the first time include a pair of Preludes and Fugues, which basically take Bach on late 19th-century harmonic detours. The three Racconti fantastici, Op 12, exemplify Busoni’s penchant for using pre-existing music as a jumping-off point for convoluted inventiveness (a trait that he shared with his rival Godowsky, by the way). Its opening piece, ‘Duello’, wouldn’t exist without Contrapunctus II from Bach’s The Art of Fugue, while the concluding ‘La caverna’ channels the finale of Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata but frames it in ominous tremolos.

Holger Groschopp’s polished, full-bodied pianism provides a most sympathetic platform for the young Busoni’s aspirations. Here’s an example of what I mean: in the final ‘Trovatore’ movement of Macchiette medioevali, Op 33, Groschopp gives breadth and seriousness to the somewhat pretentious rolled chords, whereas Wolf Harden (on his eighth volume of Busoni’s piano music for Naxos) races through them. And as excellent as Harden’s performance of the wonderful Scherzo, Op 4, may be (Vol 3), Groschopp varies the détaché phrases to a more characterful and rhythmically watertight degree. Well-researched annotations and superb sound will further attract Busoni acolytes to this fascinating and valuable release.

-- Jed Distler, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2020/Oct/Busoni-early-C5416.htm

https://www.naxos.com/Review/Detail/?catalogueid=C5416&languageid=EN

https://www.amazon.com/Early-Masterpieces-Holger-Groschopp/dp/B089D33HFF

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Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and piano teacher. Busoni was an outstanding (if sometimes controversial) pianist from an early age. He began composing in his early years in a late romantic style, and later developed a more individual one, often with elements of atonality. His compositions include works and transcriptions for piano, chamber music, vocal, orchestral works and also operas. Busoni's impact on music was more through those who studied piano and composition with him, and through his writings on music, than through his compositions themselves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferruccio_Busoni

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Holger Groschopp (bonr 1964 in Berlin) is a German pianist. He studied piano with George Sava, composition with Isang Yun and Lieder interpretation with Aribert Reimann and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. Groschopp's extensive concert activity has led him to France, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Sweden, Iceland, Latvia, Israel, Egypt, South Korea, Latin America and in the USA. His repertoire ranges from Bach, Mozart to Rachmaninov, Gershwin, Kurtág and Henze. Groschopp has made many recordings with German and foreign broadcast and TV stations.

https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Groschopp-Holger.htm

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