Ferruccio Busoni - Complete Works for Clarinet and Piano

Ferruccio BUSONI (1866-1924)

Complete Works for Clarinet and Piano

Andante con moto K 72

Suite K 88

Märchen K 123

Solo Dramatique K 138

Sonata in D Major K 138 (completed by F. Feilmair)

Serenade K 108

Preludio K 15

Stück K 162

Andantino K 107

Novellette K 116

Elegie K 286

Benjamin Feilmair (Clarinet)

Florian Feilmair (Piano)

 

Reccorded: 29 & 30 December, Schloß Weinberg, Kefermarkt

Busoni and the Clarinet

When we speak of musicians, we often credit their parent or a likely aunt as their first influence at their instrument. For the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924), we find his father, clarinettist Fernando Busoni (1834-1909), important to his development as a composer.

Busoni was a child prodigy on the piano, and often toured with his parents; his father the clarinettist, and his mother, Anna Weiss (1833-1909), the pianist. He performed in their concerts and by the age of 12 had begun compositions for clarinet and piano for his parents. These included the Clarinet Suite, Op. 10, written in 1878, the Solo Dramatique, Op. 13, written in 1879, and a Clarinet Sonata (ca. 1880).

The Clarinet suite is a set of 6 Movements framing a central elegy that is elegant and contrasting with the virtuosic demands of the outer movements. The first movement, Improvvisata, starts off the work in a very active sense. The central Elegia provides a point of repose.As a contrast, the elegy is followed by a Danza campestre, a vivacious rural dance with a theme that appears to have not come from folksong but was written by the young Busoni.

Most of the works for clarinet and piano were written between 1875 and 1880, that is, when Busoni was age 9 and age 14. The sole later work for piano and clarinet is another elegy, written in 1919, and dedicated to the clarinettist Eugenio Allegro. It seems to be one long drawn out melody that shows off all the wonderful timbre of the clarinet in both its high and low registers.His parents’ influence is clear in his early works for clarinet and piano. During these early years, before the age of 15, he also wrote works for piano, for string quartet, and for voice and piano, clearly using the forces available to a young composer to start to learn his craft. Nevertheless, aided by the nearness of a professional clarinettist, his contribution to chamber music and clarinet music, even as a child, is considerable.

Maureen Buja (March 20th, 2018)