Composer and transcriber Ferruccio Busoni valued arrangements and new compositions equally, and his compositions mixed borrowed and new musical material even as transcriptions became aesthetically undesirable in the early twentieth century. In his writings, Busoni blurs the line between composition and arrangement with his philosophy that composers do not create music, but rather capture and represent heavenly music already in existence. In many of his transcriptions and arrangements, Busoni “corrects” the original scores in order to conform more closely to his vision of the ideal piece. In the case of Busoni’s unsolicited arrangement of Schoenberg’s Klavierstück, Op. 11, No. 2, this license provoked a negative response from Schoenberg. In his compositional process, Busoni begins with an abstract, non-musical Idee, which is transformed into an abstract musical concept, or Einfall. This must then go through the process of Transkription and Arrangement to translate it into a musical work. Many of his original compositions, such as Fünf kurze Stücke zur Pflege des polyphonen Spiels (1923), mix arrangement, transcription, and composition in unique ways. His edition of Liszt’s Grande Étude de Paganini No. 6 included Paganini’s original Caprice No. 24, Liszt’s two versions of the work (1838 and 1851), and original conflations of the three. An unpublished arrangement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in G Major, K. 453, demonstrates Busoni’s attempt to modernize and perfect Mozart’s score. Occasionally, Busoni describes his work as Nachdichtung, or the assimilation of an older style into a modern idiom. This includes his Fantasia nach J. S. Bach, which combines altered renditions of several Bach chorale compositions. While Busoni’s approach is comparable to contemporary virtuosos creating their own performance arrangements, his idiosyncratic approach to transcription, arrangement, and composition—especially in a musical culture praising originality above all—made him one of the most original thinkers of the early twentieth century.

Works: Ferruccio Busoni: arrangement of Schoenberg’s Klavierstück, Op. 11, No. 2 (228-30), Fantasia Contrappuntistica (234), Fünf kurze Stücke zur Pflege des polyphonen Spiels (238), Doktor Faust (239-40), edition of Liszt’s Grande Étude de Paganini No. 6 in A Minor (243-51), arrangement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in G Major, K. 453 (252-54), Fantasia nach J. S. Bach (256-60)

Sources: Schoenberg: Klavierstück, Op. 11, No. 2 (228-30); J. S. Bach: The Art of the Fugue, BWV 1080 (234), Christ der du bist der helle Tag, BWV 766 (256-60), Gottes Sohn ist kommen, BWV 703 (256-60), Lob sei dem allmächtigen Gott, BWV 602 (256-60); Mozart: The Magic Flute (238), Piano Concerto in G Major, K. 453 (252-54); Ferruccio Busoni: Nocturne Symphonique (239-40); Liszt: Grande Étude de Paganini No. 6 in A Minor (243-51); Paganini: Caprice No. 24 (243-51)

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Matthew Van Vleet