April 1, 2013.Busoni and Rachmaninov.Two composers born this week were also some of the most influential pianists of the 20th century: Ferruccio Busoni and Sergei Rachmaninov.Busoni was born on April 1, 1866 in Empoli, Tuscani.A child prodigy, Busoni first performed publicly at the age of seven.He studied mostly in Germany, and then taught in Helsinki, Moscow, and Berlin, where he eventually settled and lived for the rest of his life (but for an interruption during the Great War).In addition to being a piano virtuoso, Busoni had many students who became famous pianists and had many students of their own.For example, Busoni’s favorite pupil, the brilliant Egon Petri, was in turn a teacher of Earl Wild, John Ogden – and Victor Borge, among many others.A very different kind of pianist, Alexander Brailowsky, who became famous for his interpretations of Chopin’s music, was also a pupil.Elena Gnessin studied with Busoni for a year while he taught at the Moscow conservatory, and then went on to establish a music school, which eventually became the Gnessin Academy.Busoni died in 1924, and most of the acoustic recordings that he made during his life are, unfortunately, of rather bad quality.There are also a number of original piano rolls, but in the opinion of his students, they do not fairly represent his pianism.Wikipedia quotes the pianist Gunnar Johansen, Egon Petri’s student, who heard Busoni play, stating that the only adequate piano roll recording is that of the Feux follets, the fifth of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes.Here it is, courtesy of Youtube.
We are much luckier with Sergei Rachmaninov’s recordings.Rachmaninov, who was born on the same day in 1873, is considered one of the greatest pianists of the modern era.Just seven years older than Busoni, he lived in an era of much more advanced recording technology.He made several recordings for Edison Records, and then, in 1920, signed a contract with Victor Talking Machine Company, the predecessor of RCA Victor.While Busoni never recorded his own music, Rachmaninov played many of his own compositions for RCA: all four piano concertos, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and many piano pieces.Here is Sergei Rachmaninov playing the first movement, Moderato - Allegro of his Concerto No. 2 in C Minor.Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting.This recording was made in April of 1929.
Busoni and Rachmaninov 2013
April 1, 2013. Busoni and Rachmaninov. Two composers born this week were also some of the most influential pianists of the 20th century: Ferruccio Busoni and Sergei Rachmaninov. Busoni was born on April 1, 1866 in Empoli, Tuscani. A child prodigy,
Busoni first performed publicly at the age of seven. He studied mostly in Germany, and then taught in Helsinki, Moscow, and Berlin, where he eventually settled and lived for the rest of his life (but for an interruption during the Great War). In addition to being a piano virtuoso, Busoni had many students who became famous pianists and had many students of their own. For example, Busoni’s favorite pupil, the brilliant Egon Petri, was in turn a teacher of Earl Wild, John Ogden – and Victor Borge, among many others. A very different kind of pianist, Alexander Brailowsky, who became famous for his interpretations of Chopin’s music, was also a pupil. Elena Gnessin studied with Busoni for a year while he taught at the Moscow conservatory, and then went on to establish a music school, which eventually became the Gnessin Academy. Busoni died in 1924, and most of the acoustic recordings that he made during his life are, unfortunately, of rather bad quality. There are also a number of original piano rolls, but in the opinion of his students, they do not fairly represent his pianism. Wikipedia quotes the pianist Gunnar Johansen, Egon Petri’s student, who heard Busoni play, stating that the only adequate piano roll recording is that of the Feux follets, the fifth of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes. Here it is, courtesy of Youtube.
We are much luckier with Sergei Rachmaninov’s recordings. Rachmaninov, who was born on the same day in 1873, is considered one of the greatest pianists of the modern era. Just seven years older than Busoni, he lived in an era of much more advanced recording technology. He made several recordings for Edison Records, and then, in 1920, signed a contract with Victor Talking Machine Company, the predecessor of RCA Victor. While Busoni never recorded his own music, Rachmaninov played many of his own compositions for RCA: all four piano concertos, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and many piano pieces. Here is Sergei Rachmaninov playing the first movement, Moderato - Allegro of his Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting. This recording was made in April of 1929.