Busoni recommendations please...

[verismissimo]

I've decided to have another go at Busoni. Never quite connected with him in the past. Listening now to the violin sonatas, which I've had for years, but are terrific, I discover. And I'll revisit the piano concerto next.

But what else? Recommendations please!

[Pabmusic]

I've decided to have another go at Busoni. Never quite connected with him in the past. Listening now to the violin sonatas, which I've had for years, but are terrific, I discover. And I'll revisit the piano concerto next.

But what else? Recommendations please!

The Turandot Suite (or the opera, of course). Also Doktor Faust.

[Bryn]

The Fantasia Contrappuntistica (I am particularly fond of the 2 piano version), is a must.

[verismissimo]

The Turandot Suite (or the opera, of course). Also Doktor Faust.

Suite on order, thanks, Pab. Others may follow...

[jayne lee wilson]

[umslopogaas]

I'll second Doktor Faust, the DG recording conducted by Leitner is a classic. The Bach-Busoni piano transcriptions are well worth hearing, there is a Hyperion disc of them played by Nikolai Demidenko which has some quite hair-raising piano playing. I also have a 2 CD set of Late Piano Music played by Marc-Andre Hamelin; cant recall anything about it, but it ought to be worth investigating. Likewise a 2 CD set of the short operas (or "theatrical caprice" and "Chinese fable") Arlecchino and Turandot, conducted by Kent Nagano. I must have played them and cant remember a note, but given how impressive Doktor Faust is, they must be worth trying.

[Bryn]

There is an interesting 'concert version' of the unfinished Doktor Faust which was apparently prepared by Sir Adrian Boult and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Lasting but 75 minutes it is cut rather more drastically than was the Lietner. If you want all there is of Doktor Faust (including completions by both Philipp Jarnach and Antony Beaumont) then the Nagano is the way to go.

[aeolium]

There's an earlier opera Die Brautwahl of which there's a very cheap recording with Barenboim and the Berlin Staatskapelle. Not as fine as Doktor Faust, imv, and I agree about the excellence of the Leitner recording of that work (though I haven't heard the Nagano recording).

Ed: I wish ENO would revive David Pountney's excellent production of Doktor Faust, but perhaps they are too cash-strapped to afford such risky ventures these days.

[Roehre]

An intriguing set is this 4CD Capriccio one with a selection of orchestral works (2 CDs) piano works and chamber music (1 CD each. An excellent taster IMHO.

for operas other than Dr.Faust ( here with both endings): Arlecchino and Turandot and Die Brautwahl

For concertante works other than the piano concerto: clarinet concertino, flute divertimento etc

[Pulcinella]

The only Busoni I have is the Intermezzo from Doktor Faust, in this compilation (though I have the Italian imprint):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hindemith-Mathis-Maler-Paul/dp/B0000264BY/ref=sr_1_10?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1433773509&sr=1-10&keywords=busoni+doktor+faust

Bought for the couplings (especially the Pfitzner Palestrina excerpts); I have no recollection of the Busoni piece so must give it a whirl.

[verismissimo]

Thanks for all your recommendations, boarders. I've decided next to go with Roehre's proposal of the Capriccio set.

But why have I found Busoni's work hard to get along with in the past? It's complex, but not particularly 'difficult'. Maybe it's because it doesn't 'fit' - not with Strauss/Elgar etc, nor with Schoenberg.Webern etc. A better fit with Pfitzner/Reger etc, I guess...

[verismissimo]

I made a mistake. I put off listening to the piano concerto until today. Now I've heard it again, I realise why I abandoned Busoni all those years ago. It's such tosh.

Luckily, I've by now acquainted myself with several other Busoni works which are much less toshy.

Bring on the Capriccio box!

[umslopogaas]

#12 verismissimo, which recordings are you referring to? THE recording of the piano concerto has always been, in my understanding, the one by John Ogdon, cond. Daniell Revenaugh. If that one didnt blow your socks off, then so far as I know (which isnt that far), none will. But if you havent tried it, please do before you write off this item. After all, if John Ogdon decided it was worth recording, it must be worth a listen.

[verismissimo]

#12 verismissimo, which recordings are you referring to? THE recording of the piano concerto has always been, in my understanding, the one by John Ogdon, cond. Daniell Revenaugh. If that one didnt blow your socks off, then so far as I know (which isnt that far), none will. But if you havent tried it, please do before you write off this item. After all, if John Ogdon decided it was worth recording, it must be worth a listen.

Ogdon's the only one I've ever had, um. Extraordinarily for a concerto, it came on LP with a 20 page booklet, so it must have been deemed a Major Event. The opening of the first movement starts really promisingly. Then the piano enters. Pure tosh!

[gurnemanz]

Ogdon's the only one I've ever had, um. Extraordinarily for a concerto, it came on LP with a 20 page booklet, so it must have been deemed a Major Event. The opening of the first movement starts really promisingly. Then the piano enters. Pure tosh!

It must have made some waves at the time. I remember borrowing the LP from the library when it came out - nearly 50 years ago, I note, (am I that old?) and haven't heard it since. Perhaps it's due another listen. I don't know much Busoni, but this thread has prompted me to look around. Currently eyeing up this Hyperion set.