Busoni the Visionary / Busoni, Slotchiver

Track Listings

1. Red Indian Diary: Book One: 1. Hopi. He-Hea Katzina Song

2. Red Indian Diary: Book One: 2. Cheyenne. Song Of Victory

3. Red Indian Diary: Book One: 3. Pima. Blue Bird Song/Lagunas. Corn-Grinding Song

4. Red Indian Diary: Book One: 4. Wabanakis. Passamquoddy Dance Song/Hopi. He-Hea Katzina Song

5. Seven Elegies: 1. After The Turning. Resolution

6. Seven Elegies: 2. To Italy! In Neapolitan Style

7. Seven Elegies: 3. 'My Soul Fears And Hopes For You...' Choralvorspiel

8. Seven Elegies: 4. The Boudoir Of Turandot. Intermezzo

9. Seven Elegies: 5. The Nightly. Walzer

10. Seven Elegies: 6. The Vision. Notturno

11. Seven Elegies: 7. Lullaby

12. Partita in d: Chaconne

Tracks:

Sonatina
Sonatina Secoda
Sonatina Ad Usum Infantis Madeline M. Americanae pro Clavicimbalo Composita
Sonatina In Diem Nativitatis Christi MCMXVII
SonatinaBrevis. In Signo Joannis Sebastiani Magni
Sonatina Super Carmen
Preludio
Adagio
Fuga

Customer Reviews:

London Calling.......2005-03-29

The visionary Busoni is perhaps, for the unindoctrinated, more readily accessible from his writings than in his music. I might even substitute `ascetic' for `aesthetic' in several instances where I experience occasional bewilderment at the restraint concealing deep matters (though expressed with a supreme command of traditional technique) - the "deceptively calm surface " which conceals cross-references. A quest for the `essence' of music must traverse both familiar and unfamiliar lands. "If ... he demands of his hearers that they shall learn his new idiom with as much sweat and anxiety and as many sleepless hours as he has given to its formation he will have to overcome the almost personal hatred his demands are bound to engender." (Busoni in `Down among the dead men' Bernard Van Dieren. OUP, 1935)

If the essence remains elusive surely a quest for the `visionary' in Busoni is less difficult today than when that was written? Regrettably it is more than likely that the listener envisaged by Van Dieren will remain apathetic rather then react with any kind of protest, or bewilderment. Busoni's music, which expects much of its listeners, may not be for the layman who simply `knows what he likes' but is it really so obscure and unfathomable?

This second disc of Jeni Slotchiver's survey of the `visionary' in Busoni traverses both territories. The first CD grouped the `Six Elegies'. - for this she has chosen the six pieces for which the composer chose the title `Sonatina'. The term generally would refer to a short uncomplicated piece in three or four movements - light-weight, and perhaps a preparatory creation for the larger more serious Sonata form. Quoting `Musical America' the pianist's notes for this CD read: "in this Sonatina (referring to the first which has no other title) the composer may have regarded himself as the beginner or founder of a new system of harmonies." It is perhaps true that `sonatina' has also, implicit in the title, a didactic aspect - and it is significant that, in this work, the source material comes from the earlier `An die Jugend' - a composition not intended for children to play, but to learn as "visionary sketches of aspects which in his belief music was to assume - and dedicated them `To Youth' which would see the full growth." (Van Dieren, op. cit.)

The semplice opening of this single movement Sonatina is strangely captivating, almost childlike in its appeal. The canvas broadens until the quiet fughetta subject is heard. "The music leaves an earthbound harmony of sure footing" writes the pianist, "to seaworthy and with dizzying embroidery, certain flight". The Allegretto elegante provides a quasi-Scherzo. In the concluding section the theme reappears and the final Epilogo is taken verbatim from `An Die Jugend' which Ronald Stevenson calls `the essence of Busoni'. Busoni himself, in a letter to his wife (March 1910) writes "Come follow me into the realm of music ... here there is no end to the astonishment ... unthought of scales extend like hands from one world to another."

The Second Sonatina (1912) is by contrast a demanding work of extreme virtuosity - with neither key nor time signature - and is essentially a work of complex mysticism. Its origins lie in the uncompleted music of `Faust'. It `contemplates worlds beyond our own" with directions like occulto and opaco.

The third Sonatina, `ad usum infantis' ("encapsulated innocence") has a youthful idea in view: "a sonatina for a child that has the air of a child" and adds to the title `pro cembalo composita' which, since the tone of the modern piano is implicit in the style of the music, has given rise to much controversy. The five movements end with an elegant Polonaise.

The Sonatina `in diem nativitatis Christi' was written for his son Benvenuto and appears, says the pianist, to be the composer's plea for peace.

The fifth, as its name implies, is the shortest work on the disc.

The penultimate work is taken from the 7th volume of Busoni's editions of Bach's keyboard works and is a version of the Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 905). It represents, says the pianist, "Busoni's signature on his completed effort".

Finally Busoni turns his attention to the music of `Carmen'. But this is no pot-pourri of tunes from the show, nor an operatic paraphrase. The conception is Lisztian drama in condensed form and Busoni infuses something of the demonic into what ultimately is a disconcerting experience.

The final item is the monumental transfiguration (in performance - for Busoni made few emendations to the original) of the C major organ Toccata of Bach (BWV 564) The culmination of the Preludio and the peroration of the Fugue, have such grandeur in performance such as this that the resonance of the woodpipes and the 32 ft stops are for the moment forgotten.

Jeni Slotchiver is an ardent disciple of Busoni - her playing is authoritative and the recorded sound excellent. Her advocacy is contained in 26 pages of closely printed notes - and it seems sometimes that the music illuminates the notes rather than the other way around. It is a persuasive performance - and one looks to the next disc with considerable interest.

Colin Scott-Sutherland

Sequenza21/ The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly.......2004-12-01

No one plays Busoni's piano music with greater clarity or depth of understanding than Jeni Slotchiver. As she demonstrated in Volume I of this series, this is music she clearly loves and understands both intellectually and intuitively. There is no finer, or more committed, advocate for this greatly underrated composer working today. - JERRY BOWLES, Editor, Sequenza21/ NYC

Busoni the Visionary / Busoni, Slotchiver

Average customer rating:

Busoni revisited
Kid Review
Simple Yet Glorious
Critics Acclaim!
A Music Listener

Busoni the Visionary / Busoni, Slotchiver
Jeni Slotchiver , Slotchiver , and F. Busoni
Manufacturer: Centaur
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Busoni The Visionary, Vol. 2

ASIN: B00003A9MR
Release Date: 1999-11-30

Tracks:

Hopi. He-Hea Katzina Song
Cheyenne. Song Of Victory
Pima. Blue Bird Song: Lagunas. Corn-Grinding Song
Wabanakis. Pasamquoddy Dance Song: Hopi. He-Hea Katzina Song
After The Turning. Resolution
To Italy! In Neopolitan Style
My Soul Fears And Hopes For You...
The Boudoir Of Turandot
The Nightly. Walzer
The Vision. Notturno
Lullaby
Chaconne From 'Parita In D Minor For Solo Violin'

Customer Reviews:

Busoni revisited.......2000-06-30

Whether it is Haydn, Liszt, or Guastavino, I have always regarded Jeni Slotchiver as a unique individual who plays with a full understanding of what the composer was trying to say. Ms. Slotchiver's Busoni has given me a new and refreshing insight to what the composer was about. I truly believe that, once Ms. Slotchiver completes the daunting task of recording all of Busoni's works, she will champion his works by allowing her interpretations to reach out to a wider audience and thus resurrect this underated composer. In making an analogy, the first question is the toughest on an examination. Well, she has passed this "first question" with flying colors!

Kid Review.......2000-04-10

I thought that this classical music was phenomenal. I think that people all over the world that like classical music should listen to this cd. Come on I am only 11 and I like this now so that is something new.

Simple Yet Glorious.......2000-03-08

Why is Busoni not a household name? First attracted by the NYT review, I found the music and the playing glorious. Slotchiver plays with great elegance and passion but does not overly romantify. She lets the simple beauty of the music speak for itself. No one could be unaffected by this cd or fail to seek out more Busoni compositions, wondering why his name is not as frequently heard as other contemporaries.

Critics Acclaim!.......2000-02-28

"Busoni's piano music still awaits the attention it truly deserves...Pianist Jeni Slotchiver loves this music passionately, as both her performances and her intelligent booklet notes make very clear. [Ms. Slotchiver has an...] extraordinary involvement with, and ability to project, the music's haunting ambivalence. She's at her best probing Busoni's quieter, introspective moments (and that's most of the time), where her wide range of keyboard color and sense of mystery are quite simply mesmerizing. For example...'All' Italai! In modo napolitano', surges up from the keyboard like some black primordial flood, and when the music finally breaks into a folksy Neapolitan tarantella, the sense of releif is positively physical... Performed this way, Busoni's music really gets under your skin." -DAVID HURWITZ CLASSICS TODAY Nov. 1999

CRITIC's CHOICE/ Classical CD"S Appropriate for Millenial Reflection" "A recent Centaur recording, appropriately called 'Busoni The Visionary' (CRC2438), presents a fascinating program of piano works impressively played by the pianist Jeni Slotchiver...Filled with incandescent piano writing and music of stunning harmonic invention...A vivid performance. - ANTHONY TOMMASINI The New York Times December, 30 1999

A Music Listener.......2000-01-08

I would not have known about this album if not for the review in the NY TIMES. Frankly, I had hardly ever hear of this composer. I came to Amazon to listen to the sound clips and although they are good they do not do it justice. I bought this album and it is a wonderful album. You can hear the power from the performer and the music is beautiful and interesting. This album is new and refreshing.

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1. Red Indian Diary: Book One: 1. Hopi. He-Hea Katzina Song
2. Red Indian Diary: Book One: 2. Cheyenne. Song Of Victory
3. Red Indian Diary: Book One: 3. Pima. Blue Bird Song/Lagunas. Corn-Grinding Song
4. Red Indian Diary: Book One: 4. Wabanakis. Passamquoddy Dance Song/Hopi. He-Hea Katzina Song
5. Seven Elegies: 1. After The Turning. Resolution
6. Seven Elegies: 2. To Italy! In Neapolitan Style
7. Seven Elegies: 3. 'My Soul Fears And Hopes For You...' Choralvorspiel
8. Seven Elegies: 4. The Boudoir Of Turandot. Intermezzo
9. Seven Elegies: 5. The Nightly. Walzer
10. Seven Elegies: 6. The Vision. Notturno
11. Seven Elegies: 7. Lullaby
12. Partita in d: Chaconne