Piano Concerto

BV247, Op. 39, K247

Busoni’s epic Piano Concerto, cast in five near-continuous movements (including a choral finale) and lasting around 70 minutes, was completed in 1904. The 38-year-old composer intended it as the symphonic climax of his creative life so far, combining his own instrument (the piano) with a large orchestra that includes a piccolo, cor anglais, bass clarinet, tuba, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, tam-tam, snare drum and glockenspiel, plus a male chorus for the finale. Although the piano part is highly challenging, its dazzling pyrotechnics are woven into the music’s structural fabric rather than intended for mere virtuoso display. The Concerto’s focal point is the central “Pezzo serioso”, a 25-minute lament consisting of an introduction and three parts that combine elements of variation technique, chorale and Lisztian reminiscences. This is preceded by a majestic opening “Prologo e Introito” and a “Pezzo giocoso” scherzo that is counterpointed by an obsessively dancing “Tarantella” fourth movement. The concerto climaxes in a “Cantico” finale combining thematic recollections with a choral setting of the final scene from Danish poet-dramatist Adam Oehlenschläger’s play Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp.

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