Johann Sebastian Bach: Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 (arr. Busoni)
Michelle Cann, piano

Performed on Monday, February 10, 2014
Field Concert Hall, Philadelphia

The numerous musical gifts of the Italian pianist, teacher, arranger, and composer Ferruccio Busoni have enjoyed praise at various points in his career, although regrettably most of it came after his death. While Busoni’s original compositions have attracted revived interest in recent decades, to this day much of his reputation stems from his many arrangements and transcriptions for solo piano. Busoni adapted works by Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt, Paganini, and, perhaps most notably, Bach. Indeed, his name was so often associated with that of other composers that one humorous anecdote recalls his wife being mistakenly introduced at a party as “Mrs. Bach-Busoni.”

Busoni possessed a remarkable ability to reimagine works in his own distinctive style while still preserving the structure and voice of the original.In this transcription from 1893 of Bach’s Chaconne, the time-honored form and function of a masterwork are left respectfully intact, while adding new levels of dimensionality, color, and virtuosity—all indicative of Busoni’s own towering command as both a concert pianist and arranger.

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