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Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher. A child prodigy, he began performing and composing at the age of seven. He studied in Vienna and Leipzig, and held teaching positions in Helsinki, Moscow, and the United States. Busoni was a highly influential figure in the world of classical music. He was a brilliant pianist and conductor, and his compositions were innovative and forward-thinking. His most famous works include the opera Doktor Faust and the piano piece Indian Fantasy. Busoni was also a passionate advocate for contemporary music. He conducted many concerts of new music, and he wrote extensively about the future of music. His writings on music theory and aesthetics are still studied today.

Supreme Art of Counterpoint and bold Innovation
The artist here deliberately avoided pure transcription, the form for which he was unfortunately far better known than the composer Busoni. His unique musical personality shaped a kind of contemplation and rediscovery of the aspects of Bach’s work.

Musical Landscapes and Avant-Garde Visions
Busoni’s literary education and keen intellect allowed him to write the text of his operas himself, to correspond with the greatest figures of his time, and to publish some essential works, of which the most significant is the Entwurf einer neuen Ästhetik der Tonkunst (Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music) (1907), in which he describes pioneering intuitions, such as the dodecaphonic system, microtonality, and new notation systems, and even makes predictions about electronic music.

Tra Mistico e Occulto
The revolutionary treatise by Busoni which caused quite a stir in the European music scene of that era, is dedicated to the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, a “musician of words,” from whose works the composer drew both the title and the character of the Elegies. Romanticism had already signaled a return to ancient mystical ideas, and with the turn of the century, a period laden with decadent expressions and tragic premonitions, mysticism found fervent advocates such as M. Maeterlinck, P. Claudel, and, in the German-speaking world, R. M. Rilke. Sartre wrote, “…the West was suffocating… Since it had no visible enemies, the bourgeoisie began to feast on the fear of its own shadow… there was talk of spiritualism and ectoplasms, the hereafter seemed so near…”

Transformations and Transfigurations
His impressive virtuosity never seemed imposing, and his avant-garde and highly original musical vision became legendary.
Beloved by audiences since his youth, he often baffled critics. His later compositions in particular rank among the most important and brilliant of his time: his works for piano and especially those for orchestra and opera influenced an entire generation of musicians. He vehemently advocated for the performance and publication of works and critical essays of then-contemporary music. Arnold Schoenberg, for example, who succeeded him as teacher of the composition class at the Berlin Academy of Music, found great support in his work through Busoni.