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The Six Sonatinas, written between 1910and 1921, are Busoni’s finest and most

compelling collection of comp osit ions.Although they are not programmatic inany aspect, the set tells a cohesive storyof an artist’s journey. These are deeplypersonal, quasi-autobiographical comp os -itions: each Sonatina serves as chron icle,and marks a gathering and culmin ation ofBusoni’s spiritual searchings and growth.Fluid and timeless, the Sonatinas alsoencompass Busoni’s temporal world.Beginnings and departures are marked.They are a diary of contentment, of agg -ressive experimentation, of the war andchaos, and peace and reconciliation. TheSonatinas are contemplative works, andalthough all end softly, they are un res -ervedly expressive, with abundantcontrasts and highly developedinstru men tal writing.The Sonatinas are alsopremonitory; they fore -tell Busoni’s orch -estral and operaticlanguage as it exp -ands, evolves, andcrystalizes.

Busoni writes tohis wife, Gerda,from Col or -

ado Springs: “No year in my life has beenso full up as this one which is just over:the richest in work, experiences andachieve ments – and I feel that I am stillgoing upwards. Everything good, myGerda, is with us.” The date is 1 April,1910, and the composer marks his 44thbirthday surveying a year of fertile andextravagant artistic discovery.

In December 1908, Busoni composesthe sparkling miniature for piano, Nuit deNoël, as a musical offering to the NewYear. He often acknowledges Christmases,New Years, and other important dateswith musical works. Nuit de Noël is amasterpiece of colour and style, an ausp -icious beginning for the New Year. Aftercompleting his concert tours in 1909,Busoni begins one of his most prolific andintense periods of artistic achievement.

From June until October 1909, hisefforts appear impossible:

Berceuse, for piano. June 1909Fantasia nach Johann SebastianBach, for piano. June 1909

Preludietto, Fughetta ed EsercizioBook 1 An die Jugend, for piano.

June 1909Preludio, Fuga e Fuga figurata

Book 2 An die Jugend, for piano. July1909

Giga, Bolero e Variazione Book 3 An dieJugend, for piano. July 1909

Concertante transcription ofSchoenberg’s Klavierstück, op. 11 no.2. July 1909

Introduzione e Capriccio(Paganinesco) &Epilogo Book 4 Andie Jugend, for piano.August 1909Berceuse élégiaque,for orchestra. October1909

The summer’s accomplishments also inc -lude several transcriptions of Bach’sChorale Preludes and a musical comedylibretto titled Frau Potiphar. In addition,Busoni writes his explorative treatise,Attempt at an Organic Notation for thePianoforte, and prepares new material foran anticipated second edition of hisOutline of a New Aesthetic of Music. Hebegins orchestration on his importantopera, Die Brautwahl and in July, com -pletes Act 1 part 1.

The Berceuse élégiaque is inscribed inmemory of Anna Busoni, and Fantasianach Johann Sebastian Bach is comp -osed for Ferdinando Busoni. Both parentsdied a few months apart in 1909, andthese pieces are personal eulogies,musical gestures of bereavement andmourning. The remaining compositionsare dedicated to the young generation ofcomposers.

Sonatina, 1910, is born from An dieJungen. The composer, Bernard vanDieren, offers to clarify the misleading title,An die Jugend. He writes, “Busoni inten -ded them as visionary sketches of aspectswhich, in his belief, music was to assumeand dedicated them to Youth whichwould see the fullgrowth. On Youthall his hopescentered.” VanD i e r e na d r o i t l yc o n -cludes:

Ferruccio Busoni –The Six Sonatinas: An Artist’s Journey 1909-1920 – his language and his world

Jeni Slotchiver

Part I of an in-depth appreciation of these greatly significant piano works

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“He did not resist thetemptation to leavepossibilities of confusion. Itpoints to a didactic strainin his mind which avoidedthe danger of pedantry byan impish sense ofhumour, and by a rom -antic delight in erudite,poetic comp lex it ies.” Busoniexplains the title to Schoen -berg in 1909, An die Jugend is intendedto signify that the publications areconceived for the new generation,” and aswith his Elegies, Busoni dedicates thepieces to promising young musicians:Josef Turczinski, Louis Theodor Gruenberg,Leo Sirota, Louis Closson, and Emile R.Blanchet. Busoni writes, in his forward toAn die Jugend: “My love belongs to theyoung and shall always belong to them.Their impossible plans, their open-mindedquestions, disarming criticisms, defiantcontradictions and fast-beating hearts …Very fine, but unf ort un ately optimistic.Youth is mostly con serv ative and its prom -ise is often deceptive … the ‘best’ standalone in every generation.” Busoni speaksas both the eternal optimist and the worldlycynic. The opposing forces of Faust, theseeker of knowledge, and Mephistoph -eles, the incessant doubter, become morepron ounced as the comp oser matures.This duality forged opport unistic energyand balance, giving shape to his operasand mature works.

Busoni writes, “Composing only des -erves the name when it busies itself everwith new problems.” He hopes a newgeneration will further explore anddevelop the musical aspects he foreseesas significant in the development of 20thcentury music. Busoni is forever Janus-faced, and the gift for future generationsis also homage and memorial to gen er -ations past. Early on, Ferdinando Busoniintroduces his wonder child to Bach, andduring adolescence, Busoni completes a15-month course of study with his onlyformal composition teacher, WilhelmMayer-Rémy. This teacher fortifies analready marvellous gift of counter point,and instills the 14-year-old with a lifelongdedication to Mozart. As Busoni grows, heinitiates himself into the world of Liszt,gaining complete mastery over histechnique. Ultimately, this discovery ofLiszt serves as a primary model for hispiano writing. Although the title An die

Jugend has lightheartedconn otations, the maturecomposer is on con sec -rated ground, with Bach,Mozart, and Liszt stand -ing guard.

The four books are adevotional collage of thecomposer’s love of form,

and polyphonic explor at -ions, or ‘free poly phony’. The

volumes contain his original music, as wellas transcribed material. Musical puzzle-games of dazzling comp lexity areinterspersed with creative gest ures,acknowledging the great masters.References to various comp ositions sugg -est musical and philosophical subtexts.‘Free polyphony’ reigns as unrelated andrelated themes combine contrapuntallywith breathtaking facility. Uncanny harm -onies are an important side effect of theseexplorations.

The pieces in An die Jugend have acomplex and cohesive relationship. Forinstance, Book 2 is an exercise based onthe D major Prelude and Fugue fromBach’s Well-Tempered Klavier, Book 1.Busoni writes, in his edition of the 48Preludes and Fugues: “The thematic relat -ions between the Prelude and Fugue arecloser than may generally be assumed;their common harmonic basis wouldrender it possible to superimpose the onepiece on the other.” The Fuga figurata, acontrapuntal combination of both thePrelude and Fugue, is proof of his con -cept. Although slight modifications occur,the work is not a technical prank, it isBusoni’s concrete demonstration in theunderlying unity of Bach’s music. Anotherexample is in Book 3, the ‘Mozart’ volumeof An die Jugend. Busoni freely transcribesMozart’s Kleine Gigue, K574. The hist -orian Alfred Einstein relates that Mozartwas in Leipzig in 1789 andinscribed this brilliant 3-voicegigue in the Court Organ istEngel’s notebook as acreative homage to Bach.In the same volume,Busoni follows Gigue withBolero, drawn from Act lllof Mozart’s Le Nozze diFigaro. Busoni transposes,transcribes, and re-visionsMozart’s fandango as apiano comp os ition. TheVariazione pushes

Mozart’s peculiar rhythms and harmoniesfurther afield in a celebration of ‘freetonality’.

In his essay, Value of the Transcription,1910, Busoni discusses the borrowing,quoting and passing on of musical themes.He asks, “But where does the transcriptionbegin?” Busoni examines two of Liszt’scompositions, Spanish Rhapsody, andGreat Fantasy on Spanish Airs. They sharethe same themes, and Busoni poses thequestion, “Which of them is the trans -cription? The one which was written later?But is not the first one already anarrangement of a Spanish folk-song? ThatSpanish Fantasy commences with atheme which tallies with the dance motivein Mozart’s Figaro and Mozart took thisfrom someone else too. It is not his, it istranscribed. Moreover the same themeappears again in Gluck’s ballet Don Juan.”After more investigations, he reveals, “Wehave been able to bring the motivematerial of both Spanish Fantasies by Lisztin conjunction with the names of Mozart,Gluck, Corelli, Glinka, Mahler. My humblename too, is now added.” An die Jugendis the realisation of Busoni’s ‘EternalCalendar of Music’, and by extending themusical language of Bach and Mozart, hefurthers ‘free polyphony’ and ‘free tonality’.

Antony Beaumont notes an entry inBusoni’s diary, 5 October, 1909, “An dieJugend! The source of the palimpsest.”Busoni often references Thomas DeQuincey’s Suspira de Profundis. An essayfrom this collection, The Palimpsest of theHuman Brain, is a meditation on con -scious ness and memory. De Quinceyexplains the term Palimpsest: “Hence itarose in the middle ages, as a con sid -erable object for chemistry, to dischargethe writing from the roll, and thus to makeit available for a new succession ofthoughts. The Greek tragedy, the monkish

legend, the knightly romance,each has ruled its own

period.” Readings of ob -scured texts were madepossible by chemists inthe early 1800s. DeQuincey comments,“They are not dead, butsleeping ... the Greciantragedy had seemed tobe displaced, but was notdisplaced, by themonkish legend; and themonkish legend had

Composing onlydes erves the namewhen it busies itselfever with newproblems…

Busoni is the timetraveller, unearthingpast treasures,revealing hiddenmysteries, andteaching their value.

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seemed to be disp lac ed, but was notdisplaced, by the knightly romance.” Heexamines the phen omenon wherebyunrelated texts inter mingle, invade andcompete. He poses the paradox: “Whatwould you think, fair reader, of a problemsuch as this — to write a book whichshould be sense for your own generation,nonsense for the next, should revive intosense for the next after that, but againbecome nonsense for the fourth; and soon by alternate succ essions, sinking intonight or blazing into day...But really it is aproblem not harder apparently than to bida generation kill, but so that a subsequentgeneration may call back into life; bury,but so that posterity may command to riseagain.”

De Quincey links the palimpsest tohuman memory and consciousness:“What else than a natural and mightypalimpsest is the human brain …Ever -lasting layers of ideas, images, feelings,have fallen upon your brain softly as light.Each succession has seemed to bury allthat went before. And yet, in reality, notone has been extinguished.” These textsalign with Busoni’s aesthetics, and in1916, Carl Jung will define his theory ofthe ‘Coll ective Unconscious’, evoking DeQuincey’s writings, as well as Busoni’s‘Eternal Calendar of Music’. Musical ref er -ences in the An die Jugend volumesexisted throughout the ages, simultan -eously credited or linked to composersfrom many different generations. Busoniis the time traveller, unearthing pasttreasures, revealing hidden mysteries, andteaching their value. By extending thelanguage, he becomes a beginner, addinganother dimension to the parchment, andpassing the torch forward.

In 1910, at the time Busoni posts theletter to Gerda, he is touring America.Seeds for the Indian Fantasy and RedIndian Diary are planted, the Grosse Fugais complete and the Fantasia Contra -puntistica will be finished within a fewmonths. He lists tours of England,Switzerland and Austria along with hisAmerican tour, where he performs 35times. In August of that year, he reworkssections of An die Jugend to form his firstSonatina.

The Six Sonatinas are Busoni’s greatestseries of compositions and contain hisvery personnel and uniquely identifiablevoice. This title, however, creates con fus -ion and a predilection for misunder stand -

ing. The general assumption connotesworks of diminutive form; ‘Sonatina’usually describes ‘studies’ for youngmusicians, or small scale Sonatas. Withthese youthful implications, it is easy tocomprehend the humorous, yet meaning -ful segue, from An die Jugend toSonatina.

Busoni does not intend to confuse oralienate amateurs and students with amisleading title; selling music is alreadychallenging. Allegorically, a beginner

would be a journeyman, an explorer andartist. In his unrelenting push for growthand discovery, he questions as a way oflife. Busoni has a personal horror of look -ing back and thrills to imagine himself anovice. A critic, writing for Musical Americain 1910, understands Busoni’s meaning:“Certainly this description has not beenselected without real justification, butprobably also not without a slightly ironicalundercurrent of thought. A ‘Sonatina’means a piece for beginners, and in ▼

Fluid and timeless, the Sonatinas alsoencompass Busoni’stemporal world.

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this Sonatina, the comp -oser may have regard edhimself as the beginner orfounder of a new systemof harmonies.”

Busoni writes, “TheSon atina is merely a re-working of the Preludietto,Fughetta, Esercizio andEpilogo from An die Jugend,organically condensed. Perhapsthe maturest of my piano pieces.”Through out the composer’s life, he iscompelled to revisit and search particularmaterial until finally, its creative potentialis depleted. Sonatina is from Books 1 and4 of An die Jugend and is all thematicallyrelated. Although Busoni never prog ram -mes all four Books, he performs Sonatina.His refined chiselling of the larger workproduces a sensational concert piece.Busoni gives the first performance at theMusikhoch schule, Basle, on 30 Sept -ember, 1910. Dedicated to Rudolf Ganz,Sonatina has striking economy of formand succinct use of thematic material.Every note is vital. As with many Busonicompositions, a listener experiences ajourney; questions and solutions areworked out from the end backward. Withthe final move in mind, the grand mastersolves a chess game. Busoni masterfullysecretes his methods of thematic trans -formation. Gestures lead in deceptivelyeffortless fashion towards a transfig urat -ion. A stunning improvisatory languagerises out of a carefully articulated journey.Busoni never subjugates form and lyricalbeauty; yet, he is not pouring ‘old wineinto new bottles’. The Sonatina integratesa complex harmonic language, derivedfrom Busoni’s ‘free polyphony’. This is hisstyle being spun. It is not abstractexpressionism, impressionism, serialism,futurism or post-Wagnerianism.

Sonatina is in one-movement form,with five sections. The opening is markedSemplice, commovente. A fughetta follows,Più tranquillo, and the third section isAllegretto elegante. The fourth section,marked Teneramente, come da principio,has a brief return and disintegration of theopening theme. This leads to a mysticaland unearthly section, the completeEpilogo from An die Jugend.

Although the initial melodic material ismarked semplice, the punctilious phrasemarkings and ensuing harmonic improvis -ations are not easy. The theme, in the

treble, evokes a pulse:two repeating tonesfollow in diminuendo,while the left handkeeps a gentle, flowingpace with a two-noteslur — the pulse of anartist walking serenely

through his world, quietlyobserving, commenting

and taking stock. A harmonicjourney is undertaken. Many of Busoni’sinteresting scale patterns are plantedbeneath the theme and shimmer belowthe surface. The simple melodic materialand supple accompaniment are perfectfoils for a calm but deliberate stroll off thewell-worn path. Secure ground begins toshift. There is a restlessness beneath theheartbeat. After a climax incorporates andpre-states the fughetta subject, the pulsesounds alone with pedal, suspending andextending the contemplative atmosphere.

In the fughetta Più tranquillo, the sub -ject is plainly stated, intimate and un -sentimental. As Busoni explores familiarterritory, traditional harmony recedeswhen small chromatic scales in 4-notegroupings enter. Patterns of shiftingwhole-tone and half-tone combinations,extending to broken major and minorthirds, crawl under and above the subject.The music leaves sure-footed earth boundharmony with dizzying embroidery andcertain flight. The fughetta theme remainsa cantus firmus, the voice of reason.Foundation combines with flight, and thetwo elements of earth and air aremagically blended. The section ends witha sumptuous small cadenza recalling theimprovisatory finale of an ornamentalBaroque cadenza, passages Busoni cher -ish ed. In an autobiographical moment, thefughetta subject returns chorale-like,sonorously chiming an unambiguous,traditional cadence.

This transitional cadence into the thirdsection is Busoni’s prayerful acknowled -gment following intense explorations. Herespectfully nods to past Masters, tips hishat, and salutes the key of C major. Thebeginners’ key accentuates how far hehas traveled and serves to remindyounger generations that much discoveryremains. His first Elegy, Nach der Wend -ung, symbolically begins in C and spins amystical and spiritual harmonic journeyoutward. Similarly, the Sonatina returns toC major, his mantra for other explorers:

build upon your ancestral foundations.The Allegretto elegante rises from the

final, resonating C major chord of thecadence. The right hand is in 4, the lefthand is quasi-Valse 3 metre. The righthand explores the whole-tone scale, theleft hand stays rooted to defined keycentres, all the while transforming thecolour and direction of the right hand. Thefughetta subject remains in the middlevoice, rhythmically and harmonically freedfrom the outer voices. The Lisztianfigurations are marvellously designed. TheAllegretto elegante is marked leggierothroughout, even when forte, andpresents an exhilarating invention of thewaltz. This style of scherzo-waltz is one ofBusoni’s trademarks. The printed musicappears sparse, yet these spectral waltzesare never straightforward. Some examplesof his fantastical original waltzes are thefleeting Die Nächtlichen (the ghost waltzfrom the Elegies) and the early op.20,op.30a and op.33a. Other undiscoveredminiature jewels can be found among theshort pieces of Busoni’s Klavierübung.The Allegretto elegante is homage toChopin, but the debt to Liszt is un -questionable. Busoni’s waltzes are thechildren of Liszt’s Forgotten Waltzes aswell as Mephisto. They are certainly thepredecessors of Ravel’s La Valse.

In the final section, the theme returnsbriefly, followed by the Epilogo from Andie Jugend. Here the composer speaksentirely in his own language. The fughettasubject is present, lyrical and intact, evenas Busoni opens the gate to his secretsubterranean world. Colours, pedallingeffects, and harmonies entice the listenerinto a realm of magic. The alchemist spinsthe whole-tone scale, spilling a trace ofliquid silver, trills float disembodied, andglistening modulations stretch and pull.With each statement of the theme, heshows a different path – wonders await.Throughout, bell-tones echo C major.Born within this framework, Busonidefines his creativity and imagination. Inthe closing moments of Sonatina, thenoble simplicity of a cadence acts asreminder that past and future are one.

Busoni posts a letter to his wife fromDayton, Ohio, on 3 March, 1910. Heencloses his essay, The Realm of Music,intended as an epilogue to Outline of aNew Aesthetic of Music. The essay isundoubtedly a companion piece for Son -atina. “Come, follow me into the realm of

His refined chisellingof the larger workproduces asensational concert piece.

music. Here is the iron fence whichseparates the earthly from the eternal…Here there is no end to the astonishment,and yet from the beginning we feel it ishomelike … Unthought-of scales extendlike bands from one world to another…Now you realise how planets and heartsare one, that nowhere can there be anend or an obstacle; that infinity livescompletely and indivisibly in the spirit ofall beings.”

Busoni writes to Gerda, March 1911, “I think with serious joy of the journeyhome and I have the feeling that my mostimportant period is beginning and that itis, I suppose, the definitive one. The joy isnot less because it is serious; on thecontrary, it is deeper. It is deep and beaut -iful, but it has lost all its youthfulness, likeRembrandt’s later self-portraits.”

Sonatina seconda, dedicated to thepianist Mark Hambourg, is composed inthe summer of 1912, and heralds aperiod of energetic experimentation. Forthe 46-year-old composer, this signals theend of a nearly two year compositionalsilence. A period of rigorous concert toursallows him time to complete his operaDie Brautwahl. He debates a form for theIndian melodies, reads voraciously, andanticipates his future path after thedynamic explorations of 1909 and 1910.

The first Sonatina is lyrical and trans -parent, sensual in its flowing lines. Bycom p arison, Sonatina seconda is a pow -erful, kinetic work. The contrast of light todark is also useful here. Sonatina secondais a tour de force, decidedly experimentalfor its time. This composition containsmuch of what is new and rarely tried, in acompelling form. Generations remaincaptivated by its spell, and the piece is atreasured masterwork for instru mentalistsand composers. Known comm only as ‘theoccult’, the word appears for the first timein a Busoni score, the composer lateradmits the piano piece is a Dr Faust study.Sonatina seconda enters the senses astableau in contem plation of worldsbeyond our own.

The printed page forcefully announcesdaring changes within the composer.There is no key signature or time sig nat -ure. A postscript at the bottom of the firstpage instructs the interpreter that accid -entals apply only once, natural signs(cancellations of sharps and flats) neveroccur. Bar lines are used rarely and serveto mark the ends of phrases or sections.

The music is written in a virtuosic style:demanding, volatile and liquid rich. Thevisual score is splendid, the aural is revel -atory, and the markings, Lento occulto,flebile and lamentoso, beckon fromanother dimension.

The first performance has Busoni assoloist at the Verdi Conservatoire in Milan,on 12 May, 1913. His programme notesdescribe the piece as ‘senza tonalità’. Theopening is a single line stretching twooctaves, a free-tone row. Schoenberg, theFuturist movement, and Busoni’s personalconjuring of his ultimate autobiographicalhero, are varying influences. Busoni’srelationship with Schoenberg, who returnsto Berlin in the autumn of 1911, isrecorded in hundreds of letters. For atime, they share rule of the Berlin avant-garde and cautiously admire each other.Their letters tell a captivating story of twoartistic giants. While attempting tounderstand each other, the relationship isriddled with apprehension, mutual respectand a general philosophical agreementnotwithstanding. The futurist movement isalso reaching a broad audience at thistime. Busoni shows mild interest, butremains wary of any movement pros -elytising an absolute manifesto. He writes,“Unfortunately I can see that these peopleare already becoming old-fashioned.”

Sonatina seconda is published at atime when séances are in fashion andoccultism is a popular topic. Busoni is anextremely charismatic, larger-than-life virt -u oso, surrounded by an aura of mystery.As with Paganini and Liszt, he attractsfantastical tales. He is, in most ways, apractical man, although his artistic andspiritual temperament leaves him sen sit -ive to nightmares and emotionally sugg -estive. The walking dead and gypsy-robedconjurers are not the characters Busonigravitates towards. Hisletters, diaries and essaysare a truer measure ofthe man than themyths built aroundhim. A list of hisfavorite authors willinclude, Edgar AllenPoe, H. G. Wells, E.T.A.Hoffmann, Cervantes,and De Quincey. Hebelieves, under specialc i r c u m s t a n c e s ,telepathy and clairv oy -ance might occur, and

has already begun to write about hismeta physical concept of the ‘omni -presence of Time’. In Sonatina seconda,Busoni’s supernatural obsessions findtheir truest expressions as an extension ofhis artistic quest for perfection andfulfillment. The forces of good and evil,Mozart’s Magic Flute and the ‘Trial by Fireand Water’, better exemplify his markingocculto. He is searching for the idealmythical-mystical protagonist that will behis voice. This quest begins many yearsbefore Sonatina seconda.

Busoni endlessly deliberates the choiceof his protagonist before settling on Dr.Faust. He is fascinated with puppet playsand loves the ambiguity of beings thatpossess both human and superhumancharacteristics. Early on, Aladdin is exp -lored, and he also considers the mythicalmagician Merlin as subject for a musicalwork. When Busoni is a young man, CarlGoldmark’s opera Merlin is premiered.Busoni writes a piano fantasy on themesfrom the opera and is hired to producethe vocal score. Busoni often incorporatesa variant on melodic material from Gold -mark’s opera as a motif. This mottobecomes a personal musical signature inmany of his compositions. The Magicians-Alchemists Leonhard and Manasse duelas opposing forces of good and evil inBusoni’s musical comedy opera, DieBrautwahl. Leonardo and Dante are deb -ated in a search for a truly Italian opera.Mephistopheles, the Wandering Jew, DonJuan, and Don Giovanni appear, as hetries to grasp the essence of these beings.His library holds beautiful rare books andprints depicting the superhuman myth -ological beings. Who best embodies theopposing forces of good and evil, and isconsumed with the struggle for their soul?Who personifies the crusade for truth,

creativity, and wisdom, while indanger of dissolution,

falsification and failure? Theseare the supernatural forcesthat enter the arena withSonatina seconda. Ten yearsafter publication, Busoniacknowledges that this is hisfirst published study for Dr.Faust. In 1912, with years ofsearching behind him, Son -atina seconda is con juringthe soul of his hero, andserves as an incantation forthe process to begin. ▼

Generations remaincaptivated by itsspell, and the pieceis a treasuredmasterwork forinstru mentalists andcomposers.

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Busoni’s music is not programmatic,however, his writing is atmosphericallysuggestive and produces unforgettablefeeling states. Sonatina seconda must beconsidered separate from Dr Faust. Onlyhindsight reveals that musical material forthe opera is developed here. That beingsaid, the autobiographical references,attached to certain musical passages thatmake their way into the opera, are haunt -ing. It is a vision of both past and future.Some material explored in the Sonatinaseconda is later used in the opera as the‘Students’ Theme’. In the opera, thestudents from Krakow enter Faust’s study,accompanied by the ‘Students’ Theme’.Faust speaks, “Ah Krakow, memories ofmy youth!” Edward J. Dent, Busoni’sbiographer (published 1933), relates anincident in 1912 that mirrors these words.Busoni is at Hamburg for rehearsals of hisopera Die Brautwahl. According to Dent,Busoni and some friends are dining in arestaurant following a rehearsal. Busoni issitting with his head in his hands, lost inmeditation. One guest begins speakingabout Klagenfurt and Busoni looks up asif stricken. Trance-like, he shocks hiscompanions, exclaiming, “Klagenfurt!Klagenfurt! Who spoke of Klagenfurt?”Everyone falls silent and later they reportthat Busoni painfully enunciated the wordseveral times and said — “The ford ofwailing.” When asked if he ever playedthere, he replies, “Did I ever play there?

Klagenfurt! It brings back all my child -hood!” Busoni explains, “I was there withmy parents; I was twelve years old; I wasa wonder-child, and everything turned onme. We were in a hotel there and had tostay for three months, because we had nomoney and could not pay the bill.”

Busoni is haunted by memories of anunhappy childhood. The sensitive andgifted prodigy long understood his fiduc -iary responsibility to his parents. Busoni’sfather is an abusive pedant with a furioustemper and cruel demands. The child isexploited as a Tom Thumb of the piano,and exhaustive concert tours negated anyserious course of education. FerdinandoBusoni incurs egregious debt and makesenemies wherever he goes, precipitatingmany disappointments in the youngartist’s life.

As a child, he longs for a future, free ofhis parents. From his first professionalconcerts, at the age of seven-and-a-half,until the death of both parents 35 yearslater, he is their sole means of support.His mother, Anna Wiess, is an exceptionalpianist, and his father, Ferdinando, is atraveling clarinet virtuoso of natural, butunrefined gifts. Anna Busoni is in chargeof her son’s education until FerdinandoBusoni, after lengthy absences, gives upwork when he sees that the boy hasenough talent to support them all. Heknows little about the piano, and Busonidescribes him as being erratic in rhythm.

His father sits beside him and scrutinisesevery finger and note for hours; the onlybreak is an explosive temper, which Bus -oni describes as, “violent in the extreme.A box on the ears would be followed bycopious tears, accompanied by reproaches,threats and terrifying prophesies.” AntonRubenstein’s testimonial for Ferruccio is ablunt letter of advice to Ferdinando,written in 1878 while the family was inVienna: “The young Ferruccio Busoni hasa very remarkable talent both for perf orm -ance and for composition. In my opinionhe ought to work seriously at music andnot be forced to play in public to earn aliving.” Busoni’s unfinished autobiographyof 1909 relates how debt follows themeverywhere: “The state of the exchequerwas then, and always was, the weak pointof my father’s administration… All throughmy childhood and all through my youth Ihad to suffer… and as far as my fatherwas concerned it never ended.” As toFerdinando’s insistence that the boy studyBach in great detail, Busoni recalls that atthe time of his youth in Italy, Bach is ratedlittle higher than Carl Czerny: “How didsuch a man in his ambition for his son’scareer come to hit on the very thing thatwas right?”

In Vorspiel I of Dr Faust, the studentsfrom Krakow enter Faust’s study, wel -comed with warmth and generosity. Thisis a common posture for the recognisablefigure of Busoni. Ernst Krenek recalls,“Music ians were in a minority and painters,writers, poets, architects, scientists, and alarge number of miscellaneous intellect -uals were all attracted by the fireworks ofhis fascinating soliloquy which would goon for an hour or more, before he retiredceremoniously … to attend to his creativework proper.” From his book, MusicHistory and Ideas, 1932, Hugo Leichten -tritt writes, “In Berlin, Ferruccio Busoni wasfor twenty years the advocate of all ideasthat aimed seriously at creating somethingvitally new. As an incomparable master ofthe piano, as a composer, conductor,teacher, essayist, and philosopher of art,Busoni was an outstanding personality ofthe highest artistic and intellectual type …Almost every night there was a gatheringof young artists from many countries athis hospitable residence … there wereheated controversies on the artisticproblems of the day in which everyonespoke freely and which were given greatdistinction by Busoni’s own esprit and wit,

By 1912, thispowerful artistdominates theBerlin avant-gardeand his circle ofstudentssurrounds him.

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superior understanding, mature judge -ment, and illuminating criticism.”

By 1912, this powerful artist dominatesthe Berlin avant-garde and his circle ofstudents surrounds him. He is a toweringvirtuoso, welcomed onto stages as a livinglegend. Guests and students fill his home.In this Dr. Faust scene, Busoni is bothgrand seigneur and young student. He isthe present and the past, the disillusionedand optimistic youth, the dissolute andfulfilled adult.

Sonatina seconda’s popularity rests onfree-fantasy bravura, overtly emotionalwriting, and Busoni’s intoxicating lyricism.There are confounding harmonic explor -ations, contrapuntal writing, and economyof material. Small cells are hidden withinBusoni’s long Italianate cantilena style. Thecanons are complex, in reverence to Bach,and the sparse perfect form confides adevotion to Mozart, all characteristics ofBusoni’s mature style. From Lisztianbravado, to the disquieting beginnings ofDr Faust, the dreamscape stream-of-conscious style of the Elegies implodes infull concentrated perfection. No otherBusoni piano work will sound so adven -turous.

Robert Freund, the composer andpianist, writes to Busoni: “The Sonatinatook me captive at once. The very unusualharmony just suits the fantastic, mysticcharacter of the piece, and gives the imp -ression of a natural, spontaneous intuitive -ness. I ask myself why it is I cannot get intouch with Schoenberg whilst even themost daring things you do seem quitenatural to me.”

The incantation begins: Il tutto vivace,fantastico, con energia, capriccio e senti -mento. Sostenuto, a mezza voceparlando. Under this sign post and low inthe bass, glowing coals and a smolderingof elements rise in a single melodicstrand, leaving a trail of molten gold acrosstwo octaves: The alchemist speaks. Thepianist’s hands weave underneath and ontop of each other, crossing from trebleand bass on three staves, mixing ethers,tossing and blending elements of fire, airand water. A two-note motif is drawn fromthe opening incantation. The mysteriousundulating broken-chord accompanimentis now more pronounced, and serves asa primary source for melodic material.Nervously, the flames begin to erupt. A fragment of the ‘Students’ Theme’ app -ears in a scornful unison octave passage.

The texture becomes ruthless. Fallingsevenths recall a motif from Goldmark’sopera Merlin, announcing the arrival of themagician. A fire spout funnels upward toa full statement of the ‘Students’ Theme’.

The spell is cast. Marked Opaco, thickominous chords enter as severe contrastto texture and color. The Merlin motifechoes in the falling sevenths of the‘Students’ Theme’. The theme repeats,marked triste, accompanied by lamentingmurmurs. The two-note ‘incantation’ motifis always present. Conjuring a ghost fromanother past, a Neapolitan-like song enters,marked pallido, a chilling, subconsciousquote from Busoni’s Elegy, ‘All’ Italia!’ Inmodo napolitano. The harmonic under -pinning is slightly broken and stuttering,assisting the vocal line. This undulatingharmony, drawn from the opening of thepiece, is an uneasy terra firma. The texturetransforms as aural deja vu, a fadedbackground of a half-remembered song,from a world long past.

A cadenza pours into the Con fuoco,energicissimo, where the ‘Students’Theme’ and the Merlin fragment entwinein Mephistophelean fury. The texturerecalls Liszt’s Dante Sonata, with metricopposition of duple and triple rhythms.The music is driven with frenzied, erraticpacing, to a crashing silence. Lento occultoheads a chord passage cloaked in lowbass tones, derived from the opening two-note motif of the ‘incantation’ tone row.These chords pivot to and from E flatmajor. Busoni’s sketches for this passageare marked ‘3-mal. Akkord’. This is thedescription Mozart uses for his Masonicmusic in Die Zauberflöte, and Mozart’sopera begins and ends in the key of E flatmajor, the Masonic key. There follows athree-voice canon of remarkable harm -onic effect, formed from the top threenotes of the undulating broken-chordaccompaniment. Mirror image inversionstwist through strettos and severely stressthe contrast between lyricism and diss -onance. The music is calm, yet the overalleffect is unnerving. A canon follows witha regular dotted-rhythm pattern, and thisquasi-ostinato is momentarily grounding,even though the complex inclusion oftheme, mirror image, and melodic ext ens -ions are never harmonically at rest. Theouter voices cross through the middledotted-rhythm voice with exquisite serp -entine style.

In striking contrast, the next section

enters the water world of a long des cend -ing chromatic line. Marked flebile, thishaunted wail is texturally and rhythmicallyreminiscent of a Neapolitan song. It isactually an extension of the original mel -od ic material. The canonic texture liquefies,returning seamlessly into a recapitulationof the opening harmony. Here, the parl -ando theme is marked Sostenuto quasiVioloncello and calando. The accompani -ment figure bleeds into waves of A flatminor and F major. These keys recall thecomposer’s Berceuse. The A flat minorand F major chords are repeated againand again, an insistent echo, until thematerial begins to break off. Long linesshift to short fragments. The spell weakens.

The contrasting Calmissimo follows,and has the Mozart Masonic chords lacedbell-like in canon, in Mozart’s original E flatkey center. The theme is in the middle;chords float throughout the 3-stave pass -age. The atmosphere is transcendental.Dent relates that Die Zauberflöte was oneof Busoni’s most treasured scores. Writingabout the Overture of the opera, thehistorian Alfred Einstein states: “[Mozart]compressed the struggle and victory ofmankind, using the symbolic means ofpolyphony: working out, laborious workingout in the development section; struggleand triumph.” Busoni’s inclusions of theMasonic elements symbolise his appealto the higher ideals of humanity, andsubtly foretell the eventual triumph ofFaust over the devil.

The canon returns truncated and in -verted, falling into the descending chrom -atic line. Reverberations of the loweststrings prompt the descent. The trebleclimbs slightly upward, exhausted, to a fullsolemn restatement of the ‘Students’Theme’, un poco marziale. As the tableaudisintegrates, the theme marches intoshadow, fading behind the curtain. Therevenants return to their world. The Pastor the Future. The last instruction of thepiano piece is estinto, extinguished. Thefalling sevenths, reminiscent of the Merlinfragment, are now a personal motif forBusoni, a musical nom de plume. Thesevenths fall to C and the C repeats twice,hushed and extinguished. The candlewicksizzles, and all is black. Busoni ends on C,a muffled heartbeat, a profound pulse. ■

Concluded in the next issue

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At summer’s end, 1914, Busoni asks for a year’s leave of absence from his

position as director of the Liceo Musicalein Bologna. He signs a contract for hisAmerican tour and remains in Berlin overChristmas, playing a Bach concert tobenefit charities. This is the first all-Bachpiano recital for the Berlin public, andDent writes that it is received with“discourteous ingratitude.” Busoni outlineshis plan for Dr. Faust, recording in hisdiary, “Everything came together like avision.” By Christmastime, the text iscomplete. With the outbreak of war in1914 and an uncertain future, Busoni sailsto New York with his family on 5 January,1915. He writes to Egon Petri: “When shallwe ever meet again? This state ofuncertainty (Planlosigkeit), after ten yearsof deliberate constructive work, at theclimax of my vital strength, is the hardestof all blows to bear!” He is battlingdisillusionment, yet hopes to proceed withhis opera Arlecchino. Modelled on 16thcentury puppet plays, the composition isan organic link to Dr. Faust. Busoni takesthe two librettos with him. His lettersdescribe a growing isolation: “When oneis no longer master of one’s own freedomof movement, life has no further value.”He abhors the provincial limitations ofAmerican audiences, and expresses fearthat the war in Europe will cause culturaldestruction. He is consumed by aparalysing anxiety about the future, andthis precipitates a desperate emotionalstate. Busoni writes, “I shall never over -come this criminal amputation on my life.”At a time when the composer’s attentionis tightly focused on the realisation of amasterwork, Busoni is obliged to proceedwith the scheduled tour, and in so doing;he nervously anticipates a creativedrought. Compounding these difficulties,New York is deluged with celebrated

artists in exile from Europe. Audiences arein thin supply. He writes to Edith Andreae,June 1915, “I didn’t dare set to work onthe opera… for fear that a false startwould destroy my last moral foothold.”

Busoni begins an orchestral comp -osition as a warm-up for Arlecchino, theRondò Arlecchinesco. He sets down ideas,hoping they might be a useful study, if allelse fails, and writes, “If the humour in theRondò manifests itself at all, it will have aheartrending effect.” With bold harmoniclanguage, Busoni clearly defines thiscomposition as his last experimental work.The years give way to compassionatereflection. The war will change him.

In America, Busoni completes Sona -tina ad usum infantis Madeline M.*Americanae, pro Clavicimbalo comp -osita, Red Indian Diary, the RondòArlecchinesco, his editions of Bach’s Well-Tempered Klavier Book 2, and GoldbergVariations.

Each Sonatina has a Latin title andbears a dedication. With Sonatina adusum infantis Madeline M.* America -nae, pro Clavicimbalo composita,Busoni obscures the dedicatee, omittingher full name. A photograph of MadelineManheim, dated 1918, was found amonghis papers in Berlin. She was a friend ofBusoni’s eldest son, Benvenuto. He hadAmerican citizenship, born during one ofhis father’s extended teaching and concerttours. Busoni composes Sonatina adusum infantis in America and perhapsmeets her then. The portrait of MadelineManheim shows a beautiful youngwoman with a thoughtful expression. Thetitle hints at the Sonatina’s encapsulatedinnocence, and offers an insider’s view ofthe composer’s ability to regenerate hisyouthful enthusiasm. Now, he sees theworld as a wide-eyed child, without theMephistophelean cynic looking over his

shoulder. Mature Busoni compositionsmirror the composer’s ontological state, aswell as his temporal environment. Thereare no dated sketches or survivingmanuscripts. The piece is published in1916 and performed by Busoni on 6November, 1917, at Tonhalle in Zurich.Sonatina ad usum infantis is probablycompleted shortly before the composer’sRed Indian Diary, dated 20 June, 1915.

Busoni references Sonatina ad usuminfantis as, “A sonatina for a child whichitself has the air of a child.” Consideringthe catastrophic times, it is a rite ofpurification, a cleansing of self-doubt anduncertainty. He introduces a compositionwith clear and simple melodies, gentleharmony and transparent beauty. ThisSonatina is not for a child, but graciouslywarm, and disarmingly uninhibited. Busoniwrites to Edith Andreae in 1916: “Myheart… is in a state of adolescence again;shy and full of longing and lacking practicalimpact.”

The subtitle is pro Clavicimbalo comp -osita (harpsichord). Busoni plays thepiece on piano and the long silky legatos,with sustained pedal harmonies, con trad -ict a harpsichord touch. The writing stylepoints towards the rich warm tone of ▼

Ferruccio Busoni –The Six Sonatinas: An Artist’s Journey 1909-1920 – his language and his world

Jeni Slotchiver

This is the concluding second Part of the author’s in-depth appreciation of thesegreatly significant piano works. Part I was published in our issue No 1504 July-September 2015.

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the piano, yet the elegant ornamentationis reminiscent of a remote past. By usingthe term ‘harpsichord’ the composerdesig nates a youthful piano, constructinga symbolic recapitulation to an earlierperiod of time, recalling Gregorian chant,and the pure lines of Palestrina. This isBusoni’s Gothic harmony, and the lang -uage of Arlecchino as well as Sonatina indiem nativitatis Christi MCMXVII.

The third Sonatina’s visionary aspectsare significant. After 1900, Busoni beginsto use a pure form of polyphony (‘freepolyphony’). He often combines thistechnique with the development of mel -odic and constructive materials, formingmotifs of usually two or three notes. In hisdefinitive study of Busoni’s piano music,the composer-scholar Larry Sitsky tracesall musical material used in Sonatina adusum infantis to the opening few bars ofthe composition. An except ionally integ -rated work, motifs are treated to rhythmicvariation, augmentation, inversion andother techniques used by great masters.Busoni is cognisant and hopeful for thepath of new music, when he writes histreatise on ‘Absolute Melody’, 1913.Prophetically, this very style becomeswidely popular after the Second WorldWar. Busoni describes ‘Absolute Melody’:“A row of repeated ascending anddescending intervals, which are organisedand move rhythmically. It contains in itselfa latent harmony, reflects a mood offeeling.” He further explains that express -ion does not depend on a text oraccompanying voices and declares, “Itmust be maintained here that melody hasexpanded continuously, that it has grownin line and capacity for expression and thatin the end it must succeed in becomingthe most powerful thing in composition.”Busoni’s discourse on ‘Young Classicism’,contained in a letter to Paul Bekker, 1920,gives further insights into his crusade forthe future of music. Busoni calls for “Thedefinite departure from what is thematicand the return to melody again as theruler of all voices and all emotions … andas the bearer of the idea and the begetterof harmony, in short, the most highlydeveloped (not the most complicated)polyphony.”

There are five numbered and conn -ected movements: 1. Molto tranquillo2. Andantino melancolico 3. Vivace (allaMarcia) 4. Molto tranquillo 5. Polonaise

(un poco cerimonioso).The Molto tranquillo and the Andant -

ino melancolico pair as prelude andfughetta. The Vivace (alla Marcia) has twovariations with a brief coda. The fourthmovement restates the Molto tranquillotheme, ascending towards the lumin es -cent transfiguration of a chorale motif,drawn from the first movement. This briefpassage serves as unifying bridge to theelegant and enchanting Polonaise.

The third Sonatina is born at a timewhen Busoni attempts to toss off hisbrooding spirits and re-enter his creativejourney with Dr Faust. Despite his opera’squasi-autobiographical elements, thecomposer believes personal hardshipscould poison an objective perspective.After nine torturous months in America,Busoni returns to Europe and settles inZurich, where he completes Arlecchino,classifying the composition as a “Marion -etten Tragödie.” Dent writes that thecomposer feels it is his “most individualand personal work,” and describes it as asatire on war and human failings. Realityand illusion fuse. Grim humour combineswith fantasy and philosophical paradox,resulting in a labyrinth of meanings andfinely interwoven themes.

This is the era of Stravinsky’s Petrushka,Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, and the toyboxes of Debussy and Fauré. ‘Commediadell’ Arte’ returns to the stage in the 20thcentury. Despite the popular tide, Busonihas a long attraction to 16th centurypuppet plays; he is enthralled with themarionettes’ contra-human characteristics.

Contrasting the outward gentle beautyof Sonatina ad usum infantis, the fourthSonatina retreats inward. Busoni dedicatesSonatina in diem nativitatis ChristiMCMXVII (1917) to his son Benvenuto.The composer gives the premier in Zurichon 24 January, 1920. A critical reviewreads: “Ringing of bells and Christmasatmosphere seen with the eyes and feltwith the heart of an artist shaken by thegriefs of the world.” Busoni is isolated,broken hearted from his exile and weariedby the mounting ravages of war. He is alsoconcerned for Benvenuto, who is called tomilitary service in America. The fourthSonatina, titled and dated ‘Christmas1917’, is not a Holiday tribute, it is thecomposer’s plea for peace. Busoni turnsaway from the world and embarks on anintense period of creativity. This is the first

of four compositions written in Zurich,with Dr Faust material.

The Sonatina in diem nativitatis ChristiMCMXVII is a profound work. The manu -script, a modest eight pages, has enor -mously condensed emotional material.The entire composition maintains aserene beauty. Fortes are rare, emergingfrom Busoni’s characteristic long lyricallines, blended arpeggiated strands, andsonorous chorale reverberations. Themelody is marked dolce. In a gentlyrocking three meter, the bass is slightly offcentre, entering with the melody on thethird beat of each measure. Althoughlyrically dolce, the music is not reassuring.An oscillating broken-chord strand risesfrom the quasi-berceuse accompanimentand begins to sound quietly subversive,implying an underlying menace. Astructurally inverted motif from the Pezzoserioso of the Piano Concerto smoothlypunctuates the end of this oscillatingfigure. First impressions of calm stabilitygive way. Characteristic of a medieval folksong, a contrasting theme enters inintervals of fourths, articulated above unpoco vivace triplets. This melody reachesa crescendo with four chiming F majorchords, adamant and painful. This stag -nant chord passage, mirroring Busoni’sdeath motif, fades to a restatement of theopening thematic material. The nextpassage remembers the veiled world ofthe Elegies. The right hand weaves aLisztian figured accompaniment, fallingand rising above lyrical, sotto voce bassoctaves. These low melodic lines areprayerful and questioning, while shiftingharmonies glaze the transparent atmos -phere. The music seems to be movingtowards a resolution. The singing octavescrescendo to the opening theme,augmented and passionately restrained.The theme eventually subsides, dissolvinginto the opening lullaby.

A single line rises out of the lowesttones of the broken-chord accompani -ment, floating plaintively, a memorial tothe Sonatina seconda. This melodicstrand is transformed, as if Busoni views itfrom a great distance, while alwayscarrying it with him. The apparition impartsa feeling of rest and security. A choraleunfolds as an ancient investigation, stilland meditative. Low bells toll, accompanythe chorale, and contain a latent rhythm,while sounding timeless. A rustic medieval

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dance, harmonically monotonous, enters.The dance dissipates into rhythmicallyaugmented basses, marked ritenendo andsuspended by continuous pedals. Thechorale returns in a questioning dialoguewith muffled bell tones. The closingsection combines the theme in 4-partfugue, and disintegrates within a tripletaccompaniment. In the final section,marked quasi transfigurato, the theme isresplendent, augmented and stated threetimes in rapturous bell-like clarity. Treble –tenor –- treble, ending on A with ancientopen fifths. Bleakness and apprehensiongive way to hope and firm foundation.

The Sonatina in diem nativitatis Christi,reminiscent of late Liszt, illustratesBusoni’s ability to convey vastly profoundfeeling states, with very few gestures. Thecomposer is at his peak, with a mag nif -icently refined technique and crystallisedthought process. He creates music ofweightlessness, and commun icatesemotions of unfathomable density.

Sonatina brevis in Signo JoannisSebastiani Magni (in freier Nachdich -tung von Bach’s Kleiner Fantasie undFuge d-moll) is found at the end of theseven-volume Bach-Busoni edition, atestament to the singular importance thecomposition holds for the composer. TheBach editions occupy all of Busoni’s adultlife and range from visionary recastings ofthe great original works, to the imm -easurable wisdom recorded in his editionof the Well-Tempered Klavier Book 2.There are two separate collections ofBusoni’s Bach editions. In 25 Volumes, theKlavierwerke (1894-1923) presentsBach’s complete keyboard works. Theother collection is a six-volume publicationfrom 1916, and holds Busoni’s trans -criptions and arrangements. A seventhvolume is added to the six-volume set andthese are published in 1920. A post -humous eighth (1925) is the secondedition of Busoni’s Klavierübung.

The 1916 and 1920 editions differ onlyin the addition of the seventh volume,which has all new material. The comp -ositions in Volume 1 and 2, Bear beit -ungen, are arrangements. Volume I,Lehrstücke, are study pieces, and Volume2, Meisterstücke, contains compositionsfor concert use. Volume 1 opens with adedication, Widmung. This miniaturecombines the tones B.A.C.H. with the Cmajor Fugue from Book I of the Well-

Tempered Klavier. There are, eighteenshort Preludes and a Fughetta BWV 924-42, a revised version of the Two-part andThree-part Inventions from the 1892publication, Four Duets BWV 802-5, andPrelude, Fugue and Allegro in E flat majorBWV 998. Volume 2 has, the ChromaticFantasia and Fugue, Concerto for pianoand strings in D minor, and the GoldbergVariations. Volume 3 holds the virtuosotranscriptions of organ works. These are,the Prelude and Fugue in D major BWV532, the ‘St. Anne’ Prelude and Triple

Fugue in E flat major BWV 552, theToccatas and Fugues in D minor BWV565, and C major BWV 564, and tenChoral Preludes. The Chaconne for soloviolin is also found in this edition. Thetranscriptions in Volume 3 date from the1880s through 1909.

The works in Volume 4 are Nachdich -tungen, original compositions based onmotifs or themes from Bach. These are,Fantasia nach Johann Sebastian Bach(Alla Memoria di mio Padre FerdinandoBusoni † il 12 Maggio 1909 †), and ▼

The Sonatina in diem

nativitatis Christi, reminiscentof late Liszt, illustrates

Busoni’s ability to conveyvastly profound feeling

states, with very few gestures

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Preludio, Fuga e Fuga figurata, from Andie Jugend. A realization of the Capriccioon the Departure of a beloved BrotherBWV 992 bears a dedication to ArthurSchnabel. Fantasia, Adagio and Fuga in Cminor, and Fantasia Contrapuntistica(Versio minore and Versio definitivo)round off this heroic collection. Volume 5,originally published in 1894, is the Well-Tempered Klavier Book 1, while Volume6 is devoted to the Well-Tempered KlavierBook 2. Busoni notes: “Bach’s ‘well-tempered’, Part 1 for pianists, Part 2 for

composers: my testament.” Volume 7 is compiled in 1920 and has,

three Toccatas BWV 914-916, and acritical edition of the Fantasie and Fuguein A minor BWV 904, dedicated to HugoLeichtentritt in appreciation for his 1916Busoni biography. Here is Busoni’screative grouping of three separate Bachpieces; Fantasia and Fugue BWV 905,Andante BWV 969, and Scherzo BWV844. There follows, a transcription for celloand piano of the Chromatic Fantasia andFugue (1917), Improvisation for two

Pianos on ‘Wie wohl ist mir’, and newversions of the puzzle canons fromMusical Offering. The final work isSonatina in Signo Joannis SebastianiMagni, a Nachdichtung of the littleFantasy and Fugue BWV 905, foundearlier in this same volume in its originalform. Just as Widmung dedicates theseven volumes, the fifth Sonatina isBusoni’s signature on his completed effort.

Throughout his life, Busoni returns toBach’s works for inspiration and re -discovery, believing the music is bothessential and potential. As a child, Bach ishis favourite composer, and this is wherehe learns the art of structure andcounterpoint. From earliest youth, Busoniwas a natural, intuitive contrapuntist; hewould joyfully combine unrelated themesto a victorious solution. By age ten, he hadalready developed prodigious skill imp -rovising polyphonically.

The prophetic original compositionsbased on Bach themes and fragments,known as Nachdichtungen, stand asmonument to a lifetime of study. Nach -dichtungen expose the thinking processand colossal imagination behind many ofBusoni’s compositions, and confirm hiscreative perspective as intuitive, ratherthan intellectual. These structural master -pieces embody a free, visionary aesthetic,grounded in the composer’s artistic idealsand his philosophical concept of the‘omnipresence of Time’. For Busoni, thepast and future are one, and in theNachdichtungen, they are inseparable.Busoni looks back for structure andcounterpoint. He looks to the future, andfrees polyphony from strict control,elevating it, both melodically and con -structively, above harmony. The freedpolyphony and the constructive adven -tures produce a new, fluid harmony.

The Fantasia, Fugue, Andante andScherzo, in Busoni’s seventh volume ofthe 1920 Bach editions, constitutes asynthetic grouping of Bach’s compos -itions. Busoni feels they are related bythematic material and key structures, andencourages their unity as an effectiveconcert piece. In this presentation, Busonicomments on the Fugue: “The counter -subject appears as a fragment of anobvious canonical leading which has notbeen developed.” He suggests an app -ropriate realization, and in the Sonatinabrevis, the Fantasia and Fugue areeloquently combined with unrestricted

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use of his proposed solution. Sonatina brevis in Signo Joannis

Sebastiani Magni, composed in August1918, is dedicated to Philipp Jarnach. Aseries of musical signatures are combinedin a short, ‘brevis’, composition. The scoreconsists of five printed pages. The musicis rich in material, colour, texture anddesign, and there is a transparency in thenatural improvisatory character of thepiece. One thought flows, and binds intoanother, a continuous organic improvis -ation. The Sonatina brevis is a meditationon the future of 20th century polyphony.

Marked Andante, espressivo eSostenuto, a canonic chain of sustainedfalling sevenths opens the Sonatinabrevis. A common Bach figure (melodyextracted from a series of diminishedseventh chords), these sevenths are alsoone of Busoni’s signatures, his Merlinmotif. The sevenths serve as structuralmaterial for the ‘Students’ Theme’, andannounce the arrival of Megaeros, the fifthspirit of hell, in Dr. Faust. In Sonatinabrevis, the sevenths are wrapped arounda three-note motif. This three-note motifis found in many Busoni compositions,and it is one of Bach’s signatures as well.These notes are a transposition of the firstthree notes of the second Kyrie fromBach’s B Minor Mass, a work recognisedfor its dualistic nature. Another provocativecharacteristic of the Mass, as it relates toSonatina brevis, is the transcription-transformation aspect. Albert Schweitzerlists six sections of the B minor Mass as‘rearrangements’, and describes them as,“Not mere transfers…it is more correct tospeak of their being suggested by theoriginal than borrowed from it.” Sch -weitzer’s observation applies to Busoni’sNachdichtungen as well. The seventhsand the three-note motif serve asstructurally unifying elements in varioussections of Sonatina brevis. Theysymbolically join the musical souls of Bachand Busoni.

The Fugue subject enters in the secondsection of the composition, Poco piùmosso, ma tranquillo. Natural extensionsof the subject’s melodic material produceadventurous harmony, the result of thevertical realisation of polyphonic develop -ment. The falling sevenths return andbridge the third section, Tema dell’Andante. Highly developed counterpointblends all elements: the Fugue subject,the three-note motif of the Andante, the

falling sevenths. The Fugue subjectbecomes a cantus firmus, disguisedamong 16th-note accompanying figures.

In the closing section, the fallingseventh motif inverts, rising purposefully.In this form, the motto releases itsdarkness, and speculates the reversal offortune. As with Sonatina in diemNativitatis, a coda announces a benev -olent transfiguration. These final bars areclosely tied to Vorspiel II, Dr. Faust (AdagioTheme). Expectations of a tranquil endingfail, when a cadence breaks off withoutresolution. The sevenths fall, and Sonatinabrevis ends ambiguously, in an unstableA major.

The final conclusions of peace aremade in the spring of 1919, and Busoniis able to travel once more. The Zurichyears allow the composer an intenseperiod of productivity, and althoughcomfortably settled, he cannot plan for thefuture. Dent speaks of Busoni’s growingisolation and oppressive loneliness. He iscut off from his great cosmopolitan world.He misses his friends and students, he islost without his beloved library, and helongs for provocative artistic stimulation.Concerned that the majority of life isalready behind him, Busoni experiences amounting anxiety, his depression deep -ens. He writes to Isidor Phillip, “For fouryears I have lived in a state of inwardhostility towards this remote world, fromwhich I have shut myself off. While judgingit to have become uncivilised, I haveperhaps become uncivilised myself. Onthe other hand I think that my art hasbecome more subtle, and that itexpresses all that remains ‘good’ withinme.” He begins to think of his future,“Zurich is exhausted, and now that peaceis concluded...I see that it is time for meto make an end of its limitations.” He givesa series of five concerts in Zurich andmakes plans for appearances inParis and London.

Busoni writes to PhillipJarnach from Paris, 10March, 1920, “After thesana torium existence ofZurich, Paris has aliberating effect. It is likea homecoming for me tofind life on the grandscale again.” He isrenewed in this vibrantcity, where he hasalways enjoyed a certain

freedom. He observes that Parisians donot judge a person according to theirdress, personal wealth, or private compan -ionship. Nine solo and orchestral concertsare sold out: “I shall never forget it. Not asa virtuoso but as a human being, I sensedthis tremendous devotion from a publicthat scarcely knew me, in a spoilt andhardened capital city, as something quitephenomenal...the applause continued allevening.” On 25 March, He describes theaudience for his compositions’ concert as,“very concentrated then increasinglyenthusiastic...with the finest understandingand greatest warmth…one of the mostwonderful evenings of my life…the endof the concert was indescribable, peoplestood up and shouted…the orchestraperformed miracles.”

While in Paris, Busoni finds many waysto occupy himself, including composition.He writes to Phillip Jarnach, 10 March, “Asa gesture of thanks to my host I am tryingto construct a brief Carmen fantasy, aninteresting pastime.” The overwhelmingresponse of the Parisians leaves him “veryinspired and full of ideas.” With the city athis feet, Busoni completes his sixthSonatina on 22 March, 1920. He writes,“The little Carmen fantasy is finished – Itis 12 pages long, with five themes andfour short sections.”

The dedication to Kammer-Fantasieüber Bizet’s Carmen (Sonatina superCarmen) reads En souvenir d’estime etde reconnaissance, à Monsieur Tauber,Paris, Mars 1920. Busoni met LeonhardTauber in Klagenfurt. Tauber was owner ofan inn and frequently heard the youngBusoni play. He becomes a successfulhotelier, has many musician friends, andowns the luxurious Hotel Foyôt in Pariswhere the Busonis often stay. Their lettersare evidence of their close friendship, andon the composer’s final visit to Paris, in

1923, he dedicates his ‘study forthe Steinway piano with the

third pedal’ to Tauber.Sonatina super Carmen iswritten while Busoni isstaying at Tauber’s home,during his series oforchestral and solo recitals.Busoni gives the firstperformance at WigmoreHall in London, on 22June, 1920.

Busoni plans Carmenas early as 1917. He ▼

…On the other handI think that my arthas become moresubtle, and that itexpresses all thatremains ‘good

12 JA N UA R Y- M A R C H 2016 M U S I C A L O P I N I O N Q U A RT E R LY

loves Bizet’s French opera more than anycontemporaneous Italian opera. In hisessay titled, ‘Mozart’s Don Giovanni andLiszt’s Don Juan Fantasy’, he proposes: “Ifit were a question of the paraphrase ofCarmen, the transcriber, following Liszt’sexample, would begin with the suggestivescene in the marketplace in Act IV, and inthe introduction as contrast to this, wouldjoin the pathetic Carmen theme built onthe gypsy scale. The middle section wouldbe composed of the Habañera (followedby variations), the finale, the bull-ringmusic.” The final version is larger than theone imagined in his essay. Busoni under -stands that the Opera Paraphrase in Liszt’shands is more than a presentation ofselected melodies for virtuoso display. Thevisionary aspects of Liszt’s skills transformthe Opera Paraph rase. Liszt’s paraphrasesare dramas in condensed settings, theyproject the emotions of the actual stagedevent, and bring a story to life.

Busoni often composes lighter ‘anti -dotes’ to serious works in an effort toachieve a creative equilibrium. In 1920,he wrote the orchestral Tanzwalzer(inspired by Johann Strauss) ‘for fun’, asan antidote to the powerful Toccata forpiano. Music from both the Toccata andthe Tanzwalzer contain potent Dr Faustmaterial and appear in the opera. Althoughinspired by other composers’ ideas,Carmen and Tanzwalzer are completelyoriginal in Busoni’s formats: These ‘light’compositions are shadowed, sometimesobliquely, other times intrinsically. Themusic’s sinister whispers escape thecasual listener.

Kammer-Fantasie über Bizet’s Carmen(Sonatina super Carmen) opens in Amajor, inextricably linking itself to Sonatinabrevis. For Busoni, the keys of A and C are

significant. The final sust -ained tones of Sonatinabrevis melt into silence,easily embracing theopening pizzicato thirds ofSonatina super Carmen.Fate motifs play a major rolein both compositions, andthe two Sonatinas also pair fortheir interchangeable duality, bothinternal to themselves, and in relation toeach other. The Sonatina brevis is Bach,encapsul ating many of Busoni’s strongGermanic traits, yet it is lyrically flowing,light, and flexible. The Sonatina superCarmen, with Liszt as creative source,celebrates Busoni’s Mediterraneanlyricism. At the same time, the sixthSonatina is dark, with clearly orderedsections. Busoni said, “Truly Bach is theAlpha of pianoforte composition and Lisztthe Omega.”

Busoni did not intend Carmen forvirtuoso exhibitionism, although thewriting is extravagantly demanding.Edward J. Dent emphasises that, Busoniwould never draw attention to difficult,extraneous passages in order to displayhis colossal technique. He was a masterof melody, subjugating surrounding voicesto an endless spectrum of imaginativecolors.

The bright opening material, Allegrodeciso, comes from the chorus of Act IV.Staccato octaves and double-thirds flutterin canonic variations. The second section,Andantino con amore, is a freearrangement of José’s Flower Song fromAct II scene 2. The melody is in the tenorvoice, while the right and left hands spindarkly glittering ornamental arpeggios. TheCarmen theme enters at the end of thissection with a subtle, gloomy presence, afateful premonition. This leads to the thirdsection, where the Habanera from Act I istreated to a series of variations. Anyexpectation of a light operatic fantasy endshere. The variations, one markedfantastico, flicker with malice, and whatappears in the opera as a lusty celebrationof life, here, has the essence of a gleefuldance of death. The material of the fourthsection is taken from the Prelude to Act 1.The familiar tune becomes mocking andincreasingly malignant. The fifth section ismarked Andante visionario. The fatetheme, from the end of the secondsection, now levitates above the des -cending chromatic scale of the Habanera,

while somber deepbells toll the spectralfragments of a diss -ipated dance rhythm.

Carmen and Busoniexemplify Jung’s ‘shad -ow’ to the object ofsociety. Both are liber -

ated outsiders. Carmen’suninhibited nature and

unrestrained sensuality have portentousimplications, making the character asymbolic companion to artists andphilosophers in their pursuit of an anti-pragmatic ideal.

In 1947 Kaikhosru Sorabji commentson Busoni’s Sonatina super Carmen: “I feel the metapsychic element to bepresent to a degree and intensity unpar -all eled in music… The gay and occas -ionally rather trivial Bizet tunes becomeindescribably ‘charged’ and even sinister,undergoing a sort of dissolution andtransformation that is… fascinating andhaunt ing to the mind of the suitably‘attuned listener,’ so that at the end of theprocess one almost says to oneself – suchis the impression of the ineluctable andimmense power behind the wholebusiness – this is a psychical invasion inmusical terms.”

With Sonatina super Carmen, Busonidemonstrates his characteristic ability torejuvenate his spirits. He shakes off thehorror of war years and the desolation ofexile, he momentarily releases himselffrom the intense journey with his masterwork, Dr. Faust, and he sets aside his mostpressing concern: For over a year, Busoniis unable to decide where the nextchapter of life will take him. He ends hisletter to Phillip Jarnach, “ ‘Home’? - theword invokes all the problems awaitingme; and this time I shall ignore them.”Busoni is inundated with offers, and thereare many cities he loves. His torturousindecision ends when he accepts anappointment from the Prussian Ministry ofEducation. He will return to Berlin anddirect a class for advanced composition atthe State Academy of Arts and Sciences.He writes to Isidor Phillip from Zurich, 7 September, 1920, “My heart is bursting,I leave my sons behind, I am going - at54 – into the unknown.” ■

© 2015 by Jeni Slotchiver

My heart is bursting,I leave my sonsbehind, I am going – at 54 – into theunknown.