April 24, 2019

  • Busoni in Boston

     

    Busoni: Piano Concerto in C, Op. 39
    Kirill Gerstein, piano. Men of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus,
    Boston Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo
    Myrios Classics MYR024
    Total Time:  71:29
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    Ferrucio Busoni’s (1866-1924) massive piano concerto for large orchestra and chorus is a bit of a concert extravaganza that requires serious commitment to program these days.  Yet, this new Myrios Classics release manages to capture the excitement and thrill of the work from this new recording taken from concerts recorded in March, 2017, at Boston Symphony Hall.  Furthermore, the label has supplemented its release with an essay about the composer by Busoni scholar Albrecht Reithmuller and a discussion of the work by Larry Sitsky taken from his larger book on Busoni and his piano music.

    Busoni’s music tends to sit on the fringes of the repertoire.  One sort of falls across it by accident and perhaps a bit of curiosity.  The Piano Concerto in C, Op. 39 (1903-04) is an opportunity to immerse oneself in the composer’s own aesthetic that takes a bit from Expressionist exploration of his inner world with a touch of modernism and even a bit of nationalism in its use of Italian songs—and more importantly form with the fourth movement’s tarantella.  Yet, Busoni would likely look less at these aesthetics as influential and think more of his own personal artistic struggle at the beginning of the 20th Century.  For many years, the concerto was championed by students or followers of the composer and later in the 20th Century it had a bit of revival with the interest of John Ogden.  Currently, there are some nine other recordings of the work which seems to be finally gaining a small toehold in the repertoire.  That said, the sheer magnitude of the piece, which plays around 75 minutes usually, can be the first hurdle.  Critics at the time felt it was not really a concerto at all, but more a symphony with a piano obbligato and chorus (one can think of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy as a grandfatherly precursor).  A sense of realism belies a more modern Italian direction, but then the work has a sort of Germanic quality to it as well (the choral text is sung in German, for example).  It is sort of the culmination of Beethoven, Berlioz, Wagner, Brahms, Liszt, and Puccini all rolled into this huge essay.  Perhaps one might say that the work sort of was “out-of-time” trying to navigate the romanticism of the 19th Century with the challenges of the modern world.

    The concerto is cast in five movements that are organized around architecture from ancient civilizations.  Movements two and four are like fantasy interludes.  The first movement opens with a long thematic statement that grows until the piano eventually enters with a big triumphant entry.  On one hand the designation of this as a “Prologue” and “Introit” reveal Busoni’s thinking about this as inviting us into a larger view with a preview and almost spiritual experience.  The piano appears with a variety of muscular chords and explorations of the keyboard that certainly has one foot in the grand Liszt tradition.  While the music certainly has that sense of romanticism with its rich harmonies, it does tend to pull back.  Soon the orchestra and piano begin to blend far more with the latter always exploring a host of runs like a grand fantasy.  A playful scherzo greets the listener in the second movement which alludes to Italian folk music more than it quotes specifically from the sources.  The piano zips along throughout all these shifts in mood with a sort of light abandon.  The orchestra meets this challenge as well in an often stunning exploration of this music.  The episodic nature takes us on a journey through Italy basically with different insinuations of dances here, an opera singer serenading there, sailor’s and indications of storms and calms.  We move closer to the realm of opera with the third movement “Pezzo Serioso”.  It begins with an almost recitative-like statement and a chorale-like idea and then will move through three parts.  The first references a Chopin nocturne which will cast its shadow across the movement.  The slower, solemn music goes through a series of transformations with each of the three parts serving as a modified set of variations in this often fascinating slow movement.  One really just needs to sit back and follow the gorgeous orchestral journey along its twists and turns as the drama unfolds becoming more insistent and intense.  The fourth movement “Tarantella” is an exciting dance scherzo where allusions to previous thematic material will occur and is the most Mahlerian of the movements.  Here the pianist is stretched to their virtuosic limits and there are 2 cadenzas for this opportunity for technical pyrotechnics.  That alone is a phenomenal physical achievement since it occurs more than 46 minutes into the work!  The final movement pulls some of the previous thematic ideas together and reveals the larger intent of honoring great civilizations as the chorus sings their mystic hymn using the thematic idea that opened the first movement.  Our sailor’s return a bit as does the opening prolog where this mix of deep, expressive thought can be interrupted by one last display of pianistic bravura.  In many ways, Busoni’s concerto provides us with a musical summation of 19th Century music with its capturing of some nationalist tendencies, the use of transformation for his thematic ideas, allusions to folk music and “quotes”, and the sort of virtuosic pianism of the century.  The deeply moving thematic statements have an almost bittersweet quality while the pseudo-religious moments seem to only hint at a deeper meaning.  This is as much a philosophical musical exploration as Scriabin’s might be a sensual one.  And yet, the two composers are perhaps a lot closer in their orchestral colors and approaches than one might think at first.

    Enter the BSO with Kirill Gerstein.  The live recording is a document for the first time the orchestra had played the piece, conducted here by Sakari Oromo.  It is also some 30 years after the piece was recorded by an American orchestra (Dohnanyi and the Cleveland Orchestra recorded this for Telarc with Garrick Ohlsson).  [There is a slight connection here as Busoni taught briefly at the New England Conservatory in the 1880s when he tended to also tour as a pianist.]  In Boston, the concert was one of the season’s greatest triumphs and that sort of edgy energy that comes from such knowledge makes the performance an engaging one.  What is often stunning is the way the lower ends of the orchestra receive such a warm acoustic that helps them provide an excellent foundation to the surrounding pyrotechnics.  The performance appears to be overall more closely miked which means the piano will stand out a bit more than one might hear in a performance.  Recording with an audience in this hall tends to soften the sound just.  In this case, it feels like we are very far forward in the hall and close to the action.  Solos from throughout the orchestra’s wind section cut through excellently though and the BSO is really in fine form.  While there is some “noise” here and there (mostly breathing, swish of clothing, or click), nothing really distracts from the amazing performance that has been captured here.  The BSO demonstrates again why it is one of the country’s finest ensembles and some of that crispness of detail that would appear in their Shostakovich series is already beginning to appear here.  The variety of solo moments allow listeners to further appreciate the many great musician assets throughout the orchestra.  Oramo elicits from the orchestra just the right sense of dramatic urgency and energy when needed and also helps shape those moments that are more background support and full-fledge orchestral showcases.  Gerstein’s energy and drive throughout the work are phenomenal as well.  The moments of relaxation and lyrical statements are well-shaped, but it is the crystal articulation throughout, which is enhanced in this recording’s presence, really makes this an engaging performance.  There are a few slight intonation issues that are as much a result of fatigue and other conditions altering the instruments themselves but these are addressed as best as the orchestra members can.  In that respect, it is a further testament to how they sound when one heads to experience a concert at Symphony Hall.

    Familiarity is really the friend of this concerto.  Some may balk at the sheer magnitude of the work, but as one becomes more used to the way the transformations and returns of themes occur, it becomes easier to follow the deeper structural architecture of each movement and the work as a whole.  The first listen is really the ticket to a monument of Modernist/Romanticist aesthetics at the beginning of the century and if one needs a performance that will reward this, Myrios is letting us all have that opportunity.  As exhausted as one may be at its end, many will want to hit replay and start all over which should give this latest release a chance to stand well against several other interpretations.

    The production here is in a slipcase for the massive booklet essays noted earlier.  It would help to have more analysis of the piece though to help listeners unaware of the work’s focus.  Unlike the Hyperion release with Marc-Andre Hamelin, the third movement only has a single access point.  The CD is in a cardboard slipcase as well.  Audience appreciation is also tacked on to the final movement.  One really should have more than one recording of this piece in their music library, but this one is certainly a great place to start because as a sheer engaging listening experience it is easily one of the finest recordings of the work and one of the BSO’s best.