Busoni: 'Finnländische Volksweisen' [Finnish Folksongs] Op.27 for piano duet

There are two movements:

1. Andante molto espressivo - allegretto moderato - presto 0:00
2. Andantino - tranquillo - vivace - presto 5:50

Ferrucio Busoni - pianist, composer, arranger, educator, philosopher - was born in 1866 and died a hundred years ago in 1924, making this an anniversary year. These pieces date from the late 1880s, when the composer had a post teaching the piano in Finnland. The edition we played from (Dohr Verlag, 2007) prints the folksongs themselves - there are six of them, three in each movement - and the manner in which Busoni employs them is far from simple: among the devices used are reharmonisations and other forms of variation, motivic and canonic reworkings, unusual textures and dramatic transitions. There are fussy details in the notation, some of them virtually unrealisable on the keyboard, and a good deal of engaging eccentricity.

The idea, then, is to create a kind of tone poem in two movements and Busoni achieves an almost symphonic character in his realisation. Bartok and Kodaly (Vaughan-Williams in England) are generally considered to be pioneers in the use of folk materials in art music but Busoni is ahead of the curve here, even if this composition owes something to the potpourri tradition (the 'Souvenir de Russie' credited to Marks but probably a hack work by Brahms would be an example of the genre).

These recordings were made in anticipation of a concert performance in the near future. They are accurate, though there is perhaps a degree less tension and excitement than a live performance would encourage. But they are great fun to play!