Ferrucio Busoni - Berceuse élégiaque, Op. 42 (1907 arr. Orchestra 1909)

Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) (given names: Ferruccio Dante Michelangiolo Benvenuto)[i] was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation meant that he met and had close relations with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary figures of his time, and he was sought-after both as a keyboard instructor and a teacher of composition.

Berceuse élégiaque, Op. 42

Originally written for solo piano, to be added as the seventh piece in his 1907 collection Elegies, Busoni adapted it for orchestra later the same year. This orchestral version was sub-titled "Des Mannes Wiegenlied am Sarge seiner Mutter" ("The man's lullaby at his mother's coffin"). The first performance of Berceuse élégiaque was in New York on February 21, 1911, and was conducted by Gustav Mahler.