JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER : Organ Works • 1 (Wolfgang Rübsam) (2001) The Organ Encyclopedia Series | Two Version | WV (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Organist, conductor, composer and teacher, Rheinberger was born in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, where he held his first appointment as organist. He moved in 1851 to Munich, studying at the Conservatory, where he later taught, his pupils including Humperdinck, Wolf-Ferrari and Furtwängler. Rheinberger was an amazingly prolific composer in many genres. Today he is chiefly remembered for his organ music, a continuing element in any performer’s training and repertoire. His twenty Organ Sonatas are varied, impressive and technically accomplished, testifying to the continuing tradition of fugal writing that stems from Bach. The present volume includes the first four of these, with the second, the Fantasie-Sonate, and the third, the Pastorale-Sonate, bearing titles that go some way towards describing their musical content. naxos
JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER (1839-1901)
1-3.    Sonata No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 28    (13:17)
4-6.     Sonata No. 2 In A Flat Major, Op. 65    (19:11)
7-9. Sonata No. 3 In G Major, Op. 88    (14:05)
Organ – Wolfgang Rübsam
Rieger-Sauer Organ of Fulda Cathedral, Germany, June, 1998. 

JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER : Organ Works • 2 (Wolfgang Rübsam) (2001) The Organ Encyclopedia Series | Two Version | WV (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Organist, conductor, composer and teacher, Rheinberger was born in Vaduz, in Liechtenstein, where he held his first appointment as organist. He moved in 1851 to Munich, studying at the Conservatory, where he later taught, his pupils including Humperdinck, Wolf-Ferrari and Furtwängler. Rheinberger was an amazingly prolific composer in many genres. Today he is chiefly remembered for his organ music, a continuing element in any performer’s training and repertoire. His twenty Organ Sonatas are varied, impressive and technically accomplished, testifying to the continuing tradition of fugal writing that stems from Bach. The present volume contains Sonatas Nos. 5, 6 and 7. naxos
JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER (1839-1901)
1-3.    Sonata No. 5 In F Sharp Minor, Op. 111  (19:17)
4-7.     Sonata No. 6 In E-Flat Minor, Op. 119  (25:10)
8-10. Sonata No. 7 In F Minor, Op. 127  (25:57)
Organ – Wolfgang Rübsam
Rieger-Sauer Organ of Fulda Cathedral, Germany, June, 1998. 

JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER : Organ Works • 3 (Wolfgang Rübsam) (2001) The Organ Encyclopedia Series | Two Version | WV (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Organist, conductor, composer and teacher, Rheinberger was born in Vaduz, in Liechtenstein, where he held his first appointment as organist. He moved in 1851 to Munich, studying at the Conservatory, where he later taught his pupils including Humperdinck, Wolf-Ferrari and Furtwängler. Rheinberger was an amazingly prolific composer in many genres. Today he is chiefly remembered for his organ music, a continuing element in any performer's training and repertoire. His twenty Organ Sonatas are varied, impressive and technically accomplished, testifying to the continuing tradition of fugal writing that stems from Bach. The present volume contains Sonatas Nos 8 and 9 as well as Ten Trios Op. 49. naxos
JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER (1839-1901)
1-4.    Organ Sonata No. 8 In E Minor, Op. 132     (26:31)
5-9.     10 Trios, Op. 49, Nos. 1-5    (8:52)
10-12. Organ Sonata No. 9 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 142    (28:19)
13-17. 10 Trios, Op. 49, Nos. 6-10    (9:55)
Organ – Wolfgang Rübsam
Rieger-Sauer Organ of Fulda Cathedral, Germany, June, 1999.

JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER : Organ Works • 4 (Wolfgang Rübsam) (2001) The Organ Encyclopedia Series | Two Version | WV (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Although Rheinberger was successful during his lifetime in a variety of genres, he is remembered today largely for his demanding organ works, which comprise twenty sonatas and twenty-two trios. The sonatas are composed in a big, bold and virtuosic style and are considered among the major works composed for the instrument in the nineteenth century. The Five Trios, Op. 189 are more intimate pieces, complementing the rhetoric of the sonatas with a more reflective style of composition. naxos
JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER (1839-1901)
1-3.    Sonata No. 10 in B Minor, Op. 146     (30:05)
4-8.     Five Trios, Op. 189 , Nos. 1 - 5    (13:51)
10-13. Sonata No. 11 in D Minor, Op. 148    (27:06)
Organ – Wolfgang Rübsam
Rieger-Sauer Organ of Fulda Cathedral, Germany, January, 2001.  

JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER : Organ Works • 5 (Wolfgang Rübsam) (2003) The Organ Encyclopedia Series | Two Version | WV (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Although Rheinberger was successful during his lifetime in a variety of genres, he is remembered today largely for his demanding organ works, which comprise twenty sonatas and twenty-two trios. The sonatas are composed in a big, bold and virtuosic style and are considered among the major works composed for the instrument in the nineteenth century. The Five Trios, Op. 189 are more intimate pieces, complementing the rhetoric of the sonatas with a more reflective style of composition. naxos
JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER (1839-1901)
1-3.    Sonata No. 12 In D-Flat Major, Op. 154     (25:32)
4-10.     Seven Trios for Organ, Op. 189, Nos. 6-12    (18:46)
11-14. Sonata No. 13 in E-Flat Major, Op. 161     (24:23)
Organ – Wolfgang Rübsam
Rieger-Sauer Organ of Fulda Cathedral, Germany, January, 2002.

JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER : Organ Works • 6 (Wolfgang Rübsam) (2008) The Organ Encyclopedia Series | Two Version | WV (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Although Rheinberger was successful during his lifetime in a variety of genres, he is remembered today largely for his demanding organ works, which comprise twenty sonatas and twenty-two trios. The sonatas are composed in a big, bold and virtuosic style and are considered among the major works composed for the instrument in the nineteenth century.

“...there are many organ enthusiasts whose concern for stylistic fidelity is less than their enjoyment of the sensuous sounds from organs that are grand and loud. For them this recording is a must-buy. This 72-stop, four-manual organ built by the Rieger firm is magnificent.” American Record Guide on Volume 3 (8.554549). naxos
JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER (1839-1901)
1-3.    Organ Sonata No. 14 in C Major, Op. 165    (25:59)
4-6.    Organ Sonata No. 15 In D Major, Op. 168    (29:18)
7-9.    Organ Sonata No. 16 in G Sharp Minor, Op. 175     (23:13)
Organ – Wolfgang Rübsam
Rieger-Sauer Organ of Fulda Cathedral, Germany, April, 2007.

JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER : Organ Works • 7 (Wolfgang Rübsam) (2008) The Organ Encyclopedia Series | Two Version | WV (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Successful during his lifetime as a composer in a variety of genres, Rheinberger is remembered today largely for his twenty organ sonatas and other shorter compositions for the instrument. The sonatas, composed in a bold and virtuosic style, rank among the major works composed for the ‘king of instruments’ during the nineteenth century. The Twelve Monologues, six of which are heard on this disc, range across a variety of keys and emotional moods, culminating in an elaborate setting of a chorale best known from its use in the St Matthew Passion of J.S. Bach, whose influence may also be heard in Rheinberger’s D minor Prelude and Fugue. naxos
JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER (1839-1901)
1-3.  Organ Sonata No. 17 In B Major, Op. 181, Fantasie-Sonate  (25:00)
4-5.    Prelude And Fugue In D Minor, JWV10  (6:21)
6-11.    Monologues, Op. 162, nos. 1-6  (18:07)
12-15.  Organ Sonata No. 18 in A Major, Op. 188  (24:49)
Organ – Wolfgang Rübsam
Rieger-Sauer Organ of Fulda Cathedral, Germany, May, 2007.

JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER : Organ Works • 8 (Wolfgang Rübsam) (2009) The Organ Encyclopedia Series | Two Version | WV (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Although Rheinberger composed dramatic and orchestral, sacred and secular music, he is now remembered for his twenty organ sonatas and other shorter compositions for the instrument. These works, with their echoes of Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and, of course, J. S. Bach, nonetheless demonstrate Rheinberger’s own finely honed melodic sense, harmonic development and clear-voiced textures. All eight volumes of Rheinberger’s Organ Works were recorded on the magnificent 72-stop, four-manual Rieger- Sauer Organ in Fulda Cathedral. For details of Volumes 1–7 please see inside this booklet. naxos

JOSEPH GABRIEL RHEINBERGER (1839-1901)
1-3.    Organ Sonata No. 19 In G Minor, Op. 193 (32:51)
4-5.    Prelude And Fugue In C Minor, JWV 16    (8:30)
6-9.    Organ Sonata No. 20 In F Major, Op. 196, 'Zur Friedensfeier'    (32:54
Organ – Wolfgang Rübsam
Rieger-Sauer Organ of Fulda Cathedral
Recorded in Fulda Cathedral, Germany, May, 2007.

CLARA SCHUMANN : Complete Songs (Dorothea Craxton · Hedayet Djeddikar) (2007) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Clara Schumann the composer often worked in her husband’s shadow, many of her songs being mistaken for his, although those best loved by the public flowed from her pen. Some were composed and performed before their marriage, others set texts which he had suggested. “There is really nothing better than composing for oneself”, Clara notes in her diary in 1853, yet after Robert’s death three years later she composed no more, making these, the fruits of mutual love, all the more precious. naxos
 
 The available selection of Clara Schumann's songs has been increasing, which is all to the good; they reveal a composer whose thinking was closely connected with that of her husband, who had the talent to keep up with what he was doing, and whose musical language in the realm of the art song kept developing even as Robert turned away from the genre. This Naxos release takes an unusual approach: it is, essentially, a historically authentic performance of the songs. Swiss-German pianist Hedayet Djeddikar uses an 1828 Stein piano owned by Clara Schumann herself, and the accompaniments take on the subtle colors made possible by fortepiano performance. Djeddikar has an especially nice way with Schumann's treatment of the upper register in the accompaniment, which adds a fantastic, melancholy, or playful note depending on the circumstances. Soprano Dorothea Craxton tries for an intimate vocal approach to match the piano and the charming sonic ambiance of the Schumannhaus in Zwickau. This is a good idea in principle, but Craxton's sound has little support in her upper register. She sounds fine in small doses, especially in limpid pieces like "Die gute Nacht" from the Four Songs by Friedrich Rückert, Op. 12. But over the course of the entire program of 29 songs the shaky intonation at crucial moments may result in aural fatigue. This release is a classic example of an original approach awaiting other performers to come along with improved execution. Texts and translations (into English only) are available only online. James Manheim   
CLARA SCHUMANN (1819-1896)
Tracklist :
1-4.    Four Songs by Friedrich Rückert, Op. 12 [9:15]
5-10.  Six Lieder, Op. 13 [13:46]
11-16.  Six Lieder from Jucunde, Op. 23 [13:41] 
17.    Der Abendstern [2:15]
18.    Am Strande [2:36]
19.    Ihr Bildnis (first version of Op. 13 No. 1) [2:46]
20.    Volkslied [3:01]
21.    Sie liebten sich beide (first version of Op. 13 No. 2) [2:20]
22.    Loreley [2:23]
23.    O weh des Scheidens [2:38]
24.    Mein Stern [1:43]
25.    Beim Abschied [4:24]
26.    Das Veilchen [2:01]
27.    Der Wanderer [1:43]
28.    Der Wanderer in der Sägemühle [2:14]
29.    Walzer [3:33]
Credits :
Dorothea Craxton - Ssoprano
Hedayet Djeddikar - Piano

PENDERECKI — Orchestral Works Vol. 1 : Symphony No. 3 • Threnody (Antoni Wit) (2000) Two Version | WAV + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

The Polish composer, Krzysztof Penderecki, established a reputation as one of the most revolutionary composers of the 20th century, his early scores gaining a cult status among modernists. The deeply disturbing Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima of 1960 has become one of his best known orchestral scores. In the mid-1960s Penderecki returned to a more traditional style of composing. In the Third Symphony, written during 1988–1995 he has produced a work consciously related to the great symphonies of the past century, yet clearly of the present era. naxos

Krzysztof Penderecki (1901-1999)
1-5.     Symphony No. 3    (44:24)
6.    Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima For 52 Stringed Instruments    8:56
7.    Fluorescences For Orchestra    14:52
8.    De Natura Sonoris II For Orchestra    8:59
Credits :
Conductor – Antoni Wit
Orchestra – National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice)
Painting [Cover Painting "Kerala"] – Stasys Eidrigevičius

PENDERECKI — Orchestral Works Vol. 2 : Symphony No. 1 & 5 (Antoni Wit) (2000) Two Version | WAV + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

The Polish composer, Krzysztof Penderecki, established a reputation as one of the most revolutionary composers of the 20th century. The mid-1960s saw his style become more conventional yet the First Symphony, dated 1973, has sonorities which are still modern. Symphony No. 5 was composed in 1992 and is notable for the strongly-drawn contrast between slower and faster sections which give it a compelling dynamic charge. naxos

Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020)
1.    Symphony No. 5    (37:37)
2-5.    Symphony No. 1    (30:27)
Credits :
Conductor – Antoni Wit
Orchestra – National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice)
Painting [Cover : Doskonałość (Perfection)] – Stacys Eidrigevičius

PENDERECKI — Orchestral Works Vol. 3 : Symphony No. 2 & 4 (Antoni Wit) (2000) Three Version | WAV + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

The Polish composer, Krzysztof Penderecki, established a reputation as one of the most revolutionary composers of the 20th century, his early scores gaining a cult status among modernists. The deeply disturbing Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima of 1960 has become one of his best known orchestral scores. In the mid-1960s Penderecki returned to a more traditional style of composing. In the Third Symphony, written during 1988–1995 he has produced a work consciously related to the great symphonies of the past century, yet clearly of the present era. naxos

Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020)
1-5.     Symphony No. 2    (34:25)
6.10.    Symphony No. 4    (30:42)
Credits :
Conductor – Antoni Wit
Orchestra – National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice)
Painting [Cover Painting "Zaćmienie (Eclipse)"] – Stasys Eidrigevičius

BUSONI : Piano Music • 1 — Fantasia Contrappuntistica · An die Jugens (Wolf Harden) (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Busoni's music for solo piano embraces the virtuosity of Liszt and the technical discipline of Bach. Nowhere are these characteristics more apparent than in his works drawn from or inspired by Bach, as this disc magnificently shows. The centrepiece is the massive Fantasia Contrappuntistica, an extraordinary series of fugues which stretch both pianist and piano to the limit. The suite An die Jugend contains original compositions and transcriptions inspired by Bach, Mozart and Paganini. Two majestic single works, one by Busoni and the other a transcription by him from Bach, round off an immensely satisfying programme. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1. Toccata & Fugue In D Minor, BWV 565 (9:26)
Adapted By [Transcribed By] – Ferruccio Busoni
Composed By – J.S. Bach
2. Prelude & Fugue In C Minor    4:19
3-7.    An Die Jugend    (25:32)
8-13. Fantasia Contrappuntistica    (30:38)
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden

BUSONI : Piano Music • 2 — Variation and fuga on Chopin's Prelude in C minor · Transcription of J.S. Bach for solo violin (Wolf Harden) (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Busoni was one of the most important composers of the early twentieth century, with a distinct and profound aesthetic of his own. His music for solo piano embraces the virtuosity of Liszt and the technical discipline of Bach. Nowhere are these characteristics more apparent than in his works drawn from or inspired by Bach, as this disc magnificently shows. It opens with Busoni’s magisterial transcription for piano of Bach’s powerful Chaconne in D minor, in which Busoni presents an entirely legitimate late romantic version of the original composition for solo violin. Equally impressive are the Variations and Fugue in free form on Chopin’s in C, inspired by Chopin’s visionary twentieth prelude from his set of twenty-four. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1.    Chaconne For Solo Violin, B24 (13:36)
Composed By – Johann Sebastian Bach
Transcription By – Ferruccio Busoni
2.    Etude En Forme De Variations, Op.17 K.206 (9:04)
3.    Variations On "Kommt Ein Vogel Geflogen", K.222 (6:19)
4.    Theme And Variations In C Major, K.6 (1873) 3:50
5.    Inno Variations, K.16 (1874) 2:54
Variations And Fugue On Chopin's Prélude In C Minor, Op.22 K.213
6.    Theme And Variations     (25:24)
7.    Fugue (5:49)
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden

BUSONI : Piano Music • 3 — Indian Diary · Trois Morceaux · Two Dance · Pieces Ballet Scenes (Wolf Harden) (2007) FLAC (tracks), lossless

The music of Ferruccio Busoni was comparatively neglected for many decades, perhaps because he didn't fit any of the "-isms" that were contending to be the main line of musical development. There was too much Liszt in his music for him to be part of the neo-Classical crowd. Now that it's clear that that effort was itself a big part of classical music's problems, Busoni is showing up on more programs and recordings. He wrote tonal music, which for some disqualified him right off the bat. And there was a dry, rigorous quality even to his slightest compositions that placed him far from late Romanticism. Annotator Richard Whitehouse puts it nicely here when he writes that Busoni was "neither inherently conservative nor demonstratively radical," and that his innovations "were bound up with a re-creative approach to the musical past that has only gained wider currency over recent decades." In a way, John Adams is one of his heirs.
This disc, part of a series of Naxos releases covering all of Busoni's piano music, introduces some of Busoni's diverse impulses, all of them tied together by his devotion to contrapuntal art and artifice. There is a relatively straight Bach transcription; a set of Three Pieces, Op. 4-6, that use concise scherzo, prelude, and fugue forms; five virtuoso works Busoni called Ballet Scenes; some light waltz music intended as a tribute to Strauss but actually closer to Ravel's La valse (though not so grim); and finally an Indianische Tagebuch (Indian Diary) that is entirely different in effect from so-called Indianist compositions in the U.S. Hear the second part, "Song of Victory" (track 14), which uses an ostinato as the basis for the subtle motivic evolution present in many of Busoni's pieces. The Fourth Ballet Scene in the Form of a Concert Waltz, Op. 33a, is a good introduction to Busoni in general, with neither its waltz opening nor its thunderous conclusion ever really letting the listener sit back and relax -- there's always too much going on at the local level. German pianist Wolf Harden has the equipment to handle the pianistically thorny passages, with a powerful, bass-heavy sound, and he had a fine feel for the unique mixture of intellect and showmanship in Busoni that is sounding better and better every year. A good choice as part of the Naxos set or for anyone curious about this composer. James Manheim  

The essence of Busoni’s music lies in a synthesis of his Italian and German ancestry: emotion and intellect, imagination and discipline, often allied with a re-creative approach to the musical past. His arrangement of Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in D minor, BWV565 represents the virtuoso transcription, derived from Brahms and Liszt, at its most commanding. Tanzwalzer, dedicated ‘to the memory of Johann Strauss’ is a homage to the golden age of the Viennese waltz. Drawing on Amerindian rhythms and melodies, the Indian Diary depicts life among the North American Indians whose wretched plight Busoni had witnessed on a visit to America in 1910. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-3. Organ Toccata, Adagio And Fugue, BWV 564 (13:07)
Arranged By – Ferruccio Busoni
Composed By – Johann Sebastian Bach
4-6. Trois Morceaux, Op. 4-6, K 197    (9:40)
7. (First) Ballet Scene, Op. 6 (3:39)
8. Second Ballet Scene, Op. 20, K 209 (5:31)
9-10. Two Dance Pieces, Op. 30a, K 235a (6:18)
11. Fourth Ballet Scene (In The Form Of A Concert Waltz), Op. 33a, K 238    (7:39)
12. Tanzwalzer, Op. 53, K 288 (8:42)
Transcription By – Michael Von Zadora
13-16. Indianische Tagebuch, Book 1 (Indian Diary), K 267    (10:58)
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden

BUSONI : Piano Music • 4 — Élégien · Fantasia nach J. S. Bach · Toccata (Wolf Harden) (2008) FLAC (tracks), lossless

In the fourth volume of his cycle of Busoni's piano music for Naxos, pianist Wolf Harden tackles some of the most important pieces in Busoni's solo repertoire; the Six Elegies, the Toccata: Preludio -- Fantasia -- Ciaccona, and the Fantasia nach J.S. Bach. Harden fills out the program with appropriate, contextually related choices; the Bach/Busoni Prelude and Fugue in D, BWV 532, originally for organ, and the seldom recorded piano solo version of the Berceuse Elegiaque, subtitled by Busoni as "Elegy No. 7." One would expect in such emotionally wrought Busoni -- the Berceuse is a memorial to his mother, as is the Fantasia to his father -- that Harden would be firing on all cylinders here. In a technical sense, he is; the execution aspect of the whole disc is impressive apart from a transition or two that come off as abrupt. However, Harden takes the Elegies a shade faster than most, and the underlying dance rhythms -- usually muted owing to slower tempi -- become the detail that plays to the foreground. In making such tempo choices, Harden's Elegies come off as being rather strident and he loses the sense of shrouded mystery that these pieces are normally associated with, and that doesn't seem like an appropriate trade-off. This may be the result of a conceptual misunderstanding; though Busoni was a pioneer of neo-classical thinking in music, the Elegies in particular are closer to the realm of Liszt than they are of Prokofiev. In any event, it is somehow encouraging that twenty first century pianists are able to take piano pieces once thought barely possible and perform them in a manner that's almost blasé. In this matter, a bit more give would've yielded expressive results in this music, such as is customary, but one cannot fault Harden for playing such extraordinarily difficult piano music with such proficiency, it's just an additional flair for drama, mood, and suspense that is lacking. Uncle Dave Lewis  

Performance occupied much of Busoni’s attention until the turn of the twentieth century, when composition began to assume a new importance in his career. Busoni regarded his Elegien as the point where he discovered his true identity as a composer. Even at his most radical, however, Busoni never rejected what had gone before; the Elegien alternate between new works and transcriptions of older pieces. Drawing on Bach organ pieces, Fantasia after J.S. Bach may sound backwardlooking in context, but its concept points determinedly towards the future. Toccata was completed while Busoni was engaged in earnest on his crowning achievement, the music-drama Doktor Faust, whose essence pervades this most virtuosic yet also aggressive of the composer’s later piano works. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-2. Prelude And Fugue In D Major, BWV 532 (11:14)
3-8. Elegien, K.249 (29:09)
9. Berceuse, "Elegie No. 7", K.252 (4:32)
10. Fantasia Nach J. S. Bach, K.253 (9:43)
11. Toccata, K.287 (Preludio - Fantasia - Ciaccona) 9:39
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden 

BUSONI : Piano Music • 5 — Six Études · Six Pieces · Ten Variations on Chopin's C Minor Prelude (Wolf Harden) (2009) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Wolf Harden returns to Busoni for Naxos in this, his fifth volume of Busoni's piano music for the label, and Harden seems to be more on his game here than in the fourth volume. While flanked by Busoni's familiar transcription of J.S. Bach's "St. Anne" prelude and his extraordinary 1922 rewrite of his much earlier Variations on Chopin's C minor Prelude, the real jewels in this crown are a couple of obscure suites, the Six Etudes, Op. 16 (1883), and the Six Pieces, Op. 33b (1895-1896). The first set is a wild and wooly series of etudes Busoni composed when he was only 17 years of age, and it contains so many seeds of his mature style that certain pieces -- such as the fifth etude "Fuga" -- could nearly be mistaken for the Busoni of 30 or so years later. The Six Pieces date from just before the Violin Concerto and Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 36a, which Busoni cited as representing a stylistic breakthrough for him. The virtuoso textures he achieves in these pieces -- "Frohsion" utilizes a sweeping figure Busoni returned to in the elegy entitled "Meine Seele bangt und hofft zu Dir" from the Sechs Elegien of 1907 -- are ones that he would revisit. The rest of it -- its comparatively conservative harmonic style and stern, seriously minded post-romantic posture -- are things Busoni would leave behind for good.

Harden is very sharp throughout this whole recording, even as his piano seems to have something of a hiccup here and there. In the Bach transcription and Chopin variations, Harden is entering the market with some already stiff competition afoot, for example Demidenko in the Bach and Kaoru Bingham in the Chopin. However, in the other works Harden is running practically unopposed, and while no "world premiere" is claimed for the Six Pieces Op. 33b, this does seem to be the first complete recording of that set, from which the "Fantasia in modo antico" is usually singled out and played as a separate entity. If Harden may feel the competition, he doesn't show it, as he treats all of the music here with the same level of respect and has obviously put a lot of hard work into this production. Uncle Dave Lewis  

Wolf Harden’s Busoni Piano Edition has been warmly applauded for its ‘spacious aural frame’ (Vol. 1—8.555034), ‘stunningly authoritative’ playing (Vol. 2—8.555699), ‘lightness of touch and excellent phrasing’ (Vol. 3—8.570249) and ‘prestidigitatory prowess’ (Vol. 4—8.570543). For this fifth volume, Busoni’s magisterial transcription of Bach’s ‘St. Anne’ Prelude and Fugue and his inspired variations on Chopin’s famous ‘Choral’ Prelude flank two equally powerful, subtle and wide-ranging sets of shorter yet equally virtuosic works, the splendid Études and the harmonically adventurous Six Pieces. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-2.     Prelude And Fugue In E Flat Major, BWV 552, 'St. Anne' (13:56)
Arranged By – Ferruccio Busoni
Composed By – J.S. Bach
3-8.     6 Études, Op. 16    (22:22)
9-14. 6 Pieces, Op. 33b    (24:22)
15. 10 Variations On Chopin's C Minor Prelude (Revised 1922 Version Of Op. 22)    12:48
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden 

BUSONI : Piano Music • 6 — Fantasy and Fugue on 'Ad nos, ad salutarem undam' (Liszt-Busoni) · Piano Sonata in F Minor · Prélude et étude en arpèges (Wolf Harden) (2009) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Naxos continues its edition, with pianist Wolf Harden, of Ferruccio Busoni's piano music, of which there is a lot, with most of it written at a very high level of difficulty and some invested in rather long pieces that require almost superhuman endurance. Volume six contains three rather uncommon pieces, starting with Busoni's piano transcription of Liszt's organ work Fantasy and Fugue on "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam," a piece recorded in part by Busoni's pupil Leo Sirota as early as the mid-'20s, but seldom visited since. Liszt created his own four-hand version of the piece that is far more frequently played over Busoni's solo piano edition. This is followed by Busoni's early Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 20a, composed in 1883 when Busoni was 17, a relative rarity hardly known before the 1980s. The Prélude et Etude en Arpèges (1923) is a very late Busoni composition and the best-known work on the program; it is a highly regarded piece that bears some kinship with his never-finished opera Doktor Faustus. All of these pieces are well worth hearing; as in the case of the Spanish Rhapsody, although it's technically a transcription of Liszt, no one would mistake the Fantasy and Fugue on "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam" for being Liszt because it has Busoni's special gestures and approach to piano technique all over it. Although Busoni rejected all of his pre-1893 works for what he felt was their precocity and lack of finish, as it turns out the F minor Piano Sonata is a fully mature and ambitious statement that is unusual for an Italian composer in the opera-obsessed 1880s and written in a time when the piano sonata itself was a form suffering from a brief eclipse.
The Naxos Busoni piano music edition has some strong advantages over other, similar projects; Busoni's piano music is so expansive and confusing that some editions have found ways to curtail the overall project in some way -- the Bach/Busoni or other kinds of transcriptions are left out, or made a different project on its own, or -- as Gunnar Johansen did on his Artist's Direct label in the 1960s -- limiting it only to fully original compositions. In Johansen's day, though, it was practically impossible to access the earlier Busoni works in manuscript that were extant; by the twenty-first century most of these efforts had found their way into print. Naxos' edition is pretty much all-inclusive of everything and combines works on individual volumes in an intelligent way; certainly the recordings are technically superior to anything that appeared on Artist's Direct. However, one genuinely wishes the label could have employed a pianist just a little more on the ball than Harden; it sounds like he is reading these scores, and it's a very good reading, but he often seems behind Busoni's music and there really isn't a strong interpretive sense at play in these renderings. To his credit, Johansen had his personal contact with Busoni to draw from and his passion for the project, so it's easy to forgive the bad sound and occasional finger slips here and there. Harden seems a bit lacking on the passion front and during the Prélude et Etude en Arpèges -- stated almost entirely in arpeggios -- we hear an arpeggio that has a note missing from it; Harden simply wasn't able to place his finger on the key at that moment. Naxos should have retaken it, but didn't; with Roland Pöntinen, Carlo Grante, and Ronald Stevenson already out there in this work, this recording simply doesn't have a competitive edge. Uncle Dave Lewis  

The sixth volume of Busoni’s piano music features two major projects from the earlier part of his career. The Liszt transcription powerfully recreates the composer’s grandest work for organ in terms of the piano, while the Piano Sonata in F minor is an exhilarating example of late-Romantic virtuosity that remained unknown until recent decades. In total contrast, the brief Prélude et étude en arpèges finds Busoni’s late musical language at its most concentrated and refractory. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-3. Fantasy And Fugue On 'Ad Nos, Ad Salutarem Undam' (26:41)
Arranged By – Ferruccio Busoni
Composed By – Franz Liszt
4-6.     Piano Sonata In F Minor, Op. 20, K204 (28:34)
7-8.     Prelude Et Etude En Arpeges, K297 (9:36)
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden

BUSONI : Piano Music • 7 — Concert fantasy on motifs from Goldmark's 'Merlin · Chamber Fantasy on Bizet's 'Carmen' (Wolf Harden) (2013) FLAC (tracks), lossless

The essence of Ferruccio Busoni’s music lies in its synthesis of his Italian and German ancestry, emotion and intellect, imagination and rigour. This seventh volume in Naxos’s highly-praised series brings together several virtuosic operatic transcriptions, paraphrases and fantasies, as well as demanding studies and two piano sonatinas. ‘Wolf Harden is a stupendous pianist who can deliver what Busoni demands and then some’ (American Record Guide on Vol. 2, 8.555699). naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1. Concert Fantasy On Motifs From The Opera "Merlin" By Goldmark    17:40
2. Fantasy On Motifs From The Comic Opera "Der Barbier Von Bagdad" By Peter Cornelius    9:38
3. Variation-Study After Mozart No. 1: Canzonetta From "Don Giovanni"    1:39
4. Funeral March From "Götterdämmerung" 8:07
Arranged By – Ferruccio Busoni
Composed By – Richard Wagner
5. Sonatina No. 3: 'Ad Usum Infantis Madeline M. Americanae    6:45
6. Sonatina No. 6: Chamber Fantasy On Bizet's "Carmen"    7:59
7-11. Five Short Pieces For The Cultivation Of Polyphonic Playing 16:24
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden 

BUSONI : Piano Music • 8 — 24 Preludes, Op.37 · Macchiette medioevali, Op.33 (Wolf Harden) (2013) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Ferruccio Busoni’s Preludes, Op 37 and Macchiette medioevali, Op 33 were a product of his teenage years (1881–83), but they are far from being derivative juvenilia. In these charming and engaging works Busoni moves away from the Baroque and Classical models of his earlier works towards a more inventive and personal accommodation with the Romanticism of the mid-nineteenth century. Wolf Harden’s playing in this series has been described as “the clear current benchmark” (BBC Music Magazine on Volume 2 / 8.555699). naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-24. 24 Preludes, Op. 37 (Kind. 181) (1881) 52:23
25-30. Macchiette Medioevali, Op. 33 (Kind. 194) (1882-83) 12:54
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden