The name of Ferruccio Busoni is familiar to most pianists and music lovers, but in my experience few seem to know much about him besides the popular Bach transcriptions. This is precisely how it was for me when I was a piano student studying at the middle school affiliated to the Central Conservatory in Beijing at the beginning of the century. I still recall the awe-inspiring experience of listening to the Bach-Busoni Chaconne for the first time, but this was perhaps the sole element of Busoni’s genius that was widely known.
Some seeds were planted when I read Heinrich Neuhaus’s writings, which were translated from Russian to Chinese. He credited Busoni as a major influence in his musical and pianistic development. His approach to piano technique, which addressed distinctive technical…
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International Piano (Digital) - 1 Issue, Spring 2025