Busoni: Piano Concerto (Live) Kirill Gerstein, Boston Symphony Orchestra & Sakari Oramo

• Ferruccio Busoni (1866 - 1924): Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 39:
• 1 Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 39: I. Prologo e Introito: Allegro, dolce e solenne (Live) 15:24
• 2 Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 39: II. Pezzo giocoso: Vivacemente, ma senza fretta (Live) 09:13
• 3 Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 39: III. Pezzo serioso (Live) 22:59
• 4 Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 39: IV. All Italiana (Tarantella) (Live) 12:01
• 5 Busoni: Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 39: V. Cantico. Largamente (Live) 11:48
• Total Runtime 01:11:25

Info for Busoni: Piano Concerto (Live)

Once a towering inspirational figure in the musical life of Berlin, later a crucial influence on musicians as diverse as Sibelius, Varèse, Schoenberg and Weill, Ferruccio Busoni is now being rediscovered by a new generation of performers and listeners.

Kurt Weill wrote: “Ferruccio Busoni has been called the last Renaissance man. It is strange enough that such a phenomenon appeared in our time. We are bound to think of Leonardo. In him also we find that comprehensive spirituality which strives to open up all attainable spheres. Such individuals are immortal not only through their work but through the radiation of their personality, through the gradual influence of their humanity.”

Busoni’s sui generis five-movement Piano Concerto is a work that bears comparison to Liszt’s Faust Symphony and Mahler’s Eighth. This revelatory new recording by pianist Kirill Gerstein with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the men of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus conducted by Sakari Oramo is a landmark in the wider acclamation of a singular genius who mapped a sublime 20th century alternative to the modernist revolt of Stravinsky and Schoenberg.

"Gerstein and Oramo are impressive in their focus throughout the work’s opening movement, and the whirl forwards towards its close has a tremendous power to it…As [the slow movement] progresses, Oramo reveals subtleties in Busoni’s scoring that I’d never heard before…The moment where the men’s voices creep in…has the sense of arrival, coupled with sublime beauty that is crucial…Anyone who loves the Busoni Concerto will want to add this to their shelves." (Gramophone Magazine)

"The sprawling score gets a virtuosic and gripping account from Gerstein, Oramo and the Bostonians. Gerstein manifestly has the measure of the solo part and his partnership with Oramo and the orchestra is palpable throughout. In a superbly clear recording, Oramo and the engineers bring out all the subtle touches and nuances of Busoni’s excellent orchestration. Conductor and soloist shape the transitions and structure perfectly." (International Piano)

Kirill Gerstein, piano
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus
Sakari Oramo, conductor

Kirill Gerstein
Gerstein’s heritage combines the traditions of Russian, American and Central European music-making with an insatiable curiosity. These qualities and the relationships that he has developed with orchestras, conductors, instrumentalists, singers and composers, have led him to explore a huge spectrum of repertoire both new and old. From Bach to Adès, Gerstein's playing is distinguished by a ferocious technique and discerning intelligence, matched with an energetic, imaginative musical presence that places him at the top of his profession.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Gerstein is an American citizen based in Berlin. His career is similarly international, with solo and concerto engagements taking him from Europe to the United States, East Asia and Australia. In the coming season, Gerstein’s flair for curation will be on display as he becomes both Artist-in-Residence at London’s Wigmore Hall and with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO). At the Wigmore, he presents a three-part concert series entitled ‘Busoni and His World’, and with the BRSO, a series of concerts at home and on tour with Alan Gilbert, Daniel Harding, Antonello Manacorda and Erina Yashima. This past season, Gerstein and Gilbert performed together in a concert for Ukraine with the Deutsches-Symphonie Orchester Berlin, and on tour with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In March, Gerstein also took part in the Ukraine benefit gala held at the Vienna Musikverein where, a few days earlier, he play-led the Vienna Philharmonic in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17.

Elsewhere during 2022-23 season, international highlights include Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto with both the London Philharmonic and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, and St Louis Symphony and Hannu Lintu; Schumann’s Piano Concerto with both The Cleveland Orchestra and Edward Gardner, and on tour with the City of Birmingham Symphony and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla; Adès with the New York Philharmonic and Ruth Reinhardt; Berg with the Dresden Philharmonic and Marek Janowski; and Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony and Alan Gilbert. In recital, Gerstein will present, together with Christian Tetzlaff, a new work for violin and piano written for them by Thomas Adès and commissioned by Kronberg Academy and the Wigmore Hall; music by Brahms, Hindemith, Clarke and Shostakovich with his close colleague Tabea Zimmermann on tour in Europe; Brahms and Ligeti Horn Trios with Alan Gilbert and Stefan Dohr; and a solo recital as part of the Concertgebouw’s Great Pianists Series playing works by Stravinsky, Schubert and Liszt.

Booklet for Busoni: Piano Concerto (Live)