This article lists acoustic recordings made for Columbia by Ferruccio Busoni. The published recordings were issued on 78-rpm records. It is believed that the original matrices were destroyed in a fire at the Columbia factory in England in the 1920s.Sitsky, p. 332. Copies of the original 78s still exist, and the recordings have been transferred to LP and CD. Some of the digital copies have been computer enhanced.
List of acoustic recordings Table 1. Recordings from 18–19 November 1919 at Columbia Studios, London.The information in Table 1 is taken from Roberge, pp. 127-139, and Dyment.The recordings from these earlier sessions were deemed unsatisfactory,See Busoni's Letters to His Wife: 1, 19 February 1922 (reproduced at The Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation web site). Accessed 7 July 2009. were not issued, and are probably lost. Composer Work Matrix/Take Bach Prelude and Fugue No.1 in C Major, BWV 846 (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I) 76699-1, -2 Mozart Andantino from Piano Concerto No.9 in E-flat major, KV 271 (BV B 84, excerpt) 76700-1, -2 Gounod-Liszt Waltz from the opera Faust, S.407 76701-1, -2 Bach Organ Chorale Prelude "Rejoice, Beloved Christians" BWV 734 (BV B 27) 76702-1, -2 Beethoven Ecossaises (not identified further; probably BV B 47) 76702-1, -2 Chopin Nocturne in F-sharp major, Op.15, No.2 76703-1, -2 Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.13 in A minor S.244, Part 1 (abbreviated) 76704-1, -2 Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.13 in A minor S.244, Part 2 (abbreviated) 76705-1, -2 Liszt Années de Pèlerinage; Deuxième Année - Italie, S.161 No.6: Sonetto 123 del Petrarca 76706-1, -2 Liszt Valse oubliée [No.1?, S.215] 76707-1, -2 Liszt Etudes d'Exécution Transcendente d'après Paganini, S.140 No.5, "La Chasse" 76708-1, -2 Chopin Etude in E minor, Op.25 No.5 76709-1, -2Weber Piano Sonata No.1 in C major, Op.24: Finale, Presto (Rondo, Perpetuum mobile) 76710-1, -2, -3
Table 2. Recordings from 27 February 1922 at Columbia Studios, London.The information in Table 2 is taken from Sitsky, pp. 331-333; Roberge, pp. 127-139; and Dyment. Composer Work IssueEach issue is a double-sided 78 rpm record. Matrix/Take Bach Prelude and Fugue No.1 in C Major, BWV 846 (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I) L 1445 76699-3 76699-4 Bach Organ Chorale Prelude "Rejoice, Beloved Christians" BWV 734 (BV B 27) L 1470 76702-3 Beethoven Ecossaises, WoO 83 (BV B 47) L 1470 76702-3 Chopin Nocturne in F-sharp major, Op.15, No.2 L 1432 76703-3 76703-4 Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.13 in A minor S.244, Part 1 (abbreviated) L 1456 76704-3 76704-4 Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.13 in A minor S.244, Part 2 (abbreviated) L 1456 76705-3 76705-4 Liszt Années de Pèlerinage; Deuxième Année - Italie, S.161 No.6: Sonetto 123 del Petrarca 76706-3This take was rejected because of "rough surfaces"; probably lost. 76706-4 Chopin Etude in E minor, Op.25 No.5 L 1445 76709-3 76709-4 Weber Piano Sonata No.1 in C major, Op.24: Finale, Presto (Rondo, Perpetuum mobile) 76709-4Take 4 was deemed acceptable but for some reason was not published; probably lost. 76709-5 Beethoven Ecossaises (not identified further; probably BV B 47) 75058-1This take was rejected because of "extraneous noises"; probably lost. Bach Prelude to Chorale (not identified further; probably BV B 27) 75058-1 Chopin Etude in G-flat major, Op.10 No.5 L 1432 75059-1 75059-2 Chopin Prelude in A major, Op.28 No.7; Etude in G-flat major, Op.10 No.5There is an "improvised bridge passage" between the Prelude and the Etude (Sitsky, p. 332). L 1470 75060-1 75060-2
Selected CD reissue Busoni and his Legacy: Piano recordings by Busoni • Ley • Petri Arbiter 134 (CD; 72 min; ADD using "sonic depth technology"; issued 2002). • Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924): the complete 1922 recordings (L 1445, L 1470, L 1432, L 1456) • Rosamond Ley (1882-1969): • Liszt: Jeux d'eau a la Villa d'Este (rec. 1942) • Liszt: Sonata après une lecture du Dante (rec. 1942) • Egon Petri (1881-1962): • Liszt: Totentanz (incomplete; first 78 missing; rec. 1936) • Busoni: Piano Concerto, Movement 4 (recorded from a live broadcast 2 June 1932 with Hans Rosbaud, conductor)
Notes
References Dyment, Christopher (1978). "Ferruccio Busoni: His Phonograph Recordings," ARSC Journal, 10:2/3, pp. 185-187. Accessed 7 July 2009. Roberge, Marc-André (1991). Ferruccio Busoni: a bio-bibliography. New York: Greenwood Press. Sitsky, Larry (2008). Busoni and the Piano. The Works, the Writings, and the Recordings. (2nd ed.) Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press. [First edition, Westport: Greenwood Press,1986. ]