Busoni: Piano Concerto

Album review

Ferruccio Busoni said that there were essentially two types of piano concertos: the Mozart type, where the soloist has the spotlight, and the Beethoven type, where he or she supports the orchestra. In his own sole piano concerto, he went on to combine the two. Sample the fourth minute of the vast first movement here, where the piano's entrance is very Beethovenian despite the increased scope. It is, however, punishingly difficult, so much so that Busoni himself, a formidable pianist, declined to perform the work as a rule. After the piano's entrance, you get a little of everything: not only Beethoven but Wagnerian drama, Tchaikovskian sentiment, a tarantella in recognition of Busoni's roots, and, to top it all, a choral finale à la the Choral Fantasy in C major, Op. 80, of Beethoven. And, to top that, its text is a vaguely Islamic one. There are several recorded performances of this work available, although not as many as you might think. Those new to the work can select this one with confidence. It was recorded live with the Boston Symphony under Sakari Oramo and Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein, who must have done some intervals training in preparation for this, as soloist. Oramo's tempos are brisk relative to other performances, and that gives the reading a live-wire quality, a strong live-recording X factor. Gerstein fully keeps up. It might be that Busoni had broader charisma in mind for the opening, but the results here are conditioned by Oramo's tempos, and the music gathers force as it proceeds. The second-movement "Pezzo giocoso" and the fourth "All'Italiana" are slashing and edgy in Gerstein's hands, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus is gloriously warm in the finale. A note to radio programmers and potential buyers: the performance gets more than a minute of applause at the end, and it fully deserves that applause.
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