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Naxos

Busoni: Piano Music Vol 1 / Wolf Harden

$19.99

Details

Composer
BUSONI
Artist
Wolf, Harden
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
May 01, 2001
Catalog #
8555034
UPC
747313503421

About

Here comes yet another cycle from Naxos, this time Ferruccio Busoni's piano music. Presumably this overview will encompass all the original works and transcriptions. Busoni's original compositions, in fact, often behave like transcriptions. The mighty Fantasia Contrappuntistica, for example, is a full blown fantasia with the final, unfinished contrapunctus of Bach's The Art of Fugue as its centerpiece. An die Jugend's five movements pay a sort of hommage to keyboard styles past and present (meaning Busoni's present). The Preludietto, Fughetta ed Esecizio's whole-tone scales sound like Debussy echt Deutsch. The third movement is essentially Bach's D major Prelude and Fugue from the Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 with discreet textural padding, followed by the prelude and fugue ingenuously combined.


It reminds me of Godowsky's chicanery (his combination of Chopin's "Black Key" and "Butterfly" Etudes, for example), but minus the fun. Like Messiaen and Reger, Busoni's music is utterly devoid of humor, and it requires a special kind of pianist. Although Wolf Harden may not possess the visionary drive and narrative sweep distinguishing recorded Fantasia Contrappuntistici from Christopher O'Riley, John Ogdon, Alfred Brendel, and Egon Petri (the latter two were on long-out-of-print mono LPs), there's much to savor in his clean fingerwork and rich, bass-oriented sonority. He digs into Busoni's massive chord climaxes like a hungry trencherman about to enjoy his aged Porterhouse steak, and he shades the composer's polytonal arpeggios with great sensitivity. There's no doubt that Harden has the technique and temperament for this repertoire, and I look forward to more. Next time, however, I hope the piano tuner doesn't leave when the recording sessions start.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 13 tracks

  1. 1 Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 09:26
    Track
    1
    Title
    Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565
    Duration
    09:26
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  2. 2 Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, Op. 75, BV 155 04:19
    Track
    2
    Title
    Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, Op. 75, BV 155
    Duration
    04:19
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  3. 3 I. Preludietto, Fughetta ed Esercizio 06:00
    Track
    3
    Title
    I. Preludietto, Fughetta ed Esercizio
    Duration
    06:00
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  4. 4 II. Preludio, Fuga e Fuga figurata 05:01
    Track
    4
    Title
    II. Preludio, Fuga e Fuga figurata
    Duration
    05:01
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  5. 5 III. Giga, Bolero e Variazione 04:15
    Track
    5
    Title
    III. Giga, Bolero e Variazione
    Duration
    04:15
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  6. 6 IV. Introduzione e Capriccio (Paganinesco) 06:37
    Track
    6
    Title
    IV. Introduzione e Capriccio (Paganinesco)
    Duration
    06:37
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  7. 7 V. Epilogo 03:39
    Track
    7
    Title
    V. Epilogo
    Duration
    03:39
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  8. 8 Preludio corale 08:11
    Track
    8
    Title
    Preludio corale
    Duration
    08:11
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  9. 9 Fuga I 03:54
    Track
    9
    Title
    Fuga I
    Duration
    03:54
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  10. 10 Fuga II 02:08
    Track
    10
    Title
    Fuga II
    Duration
    02:08
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  11. 11 Fuga III 05:55
    Track
    11
    Title
    Fuga III
    Duration
    05:55
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  12. 12 Intermezzo 05:55
    Track
    12
    Title
    Intermezzo
    Duration
    05:55
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden
  13. 13 Fuga IV - Stretta 04:35
    Track
    13
    Title
    Fuga IV - Stretta
    Duration
    04:35
    Composer
    Ferruccio Busoni
    Performer
    Wolf Harden