The son of an Italian musician father and a German pianist mother, Ferruccio Busoni represented a remarkable synthesis of two differing attitudes to music at this time, while winning an outstanding reputation as a piano virtuoso.

Operas and Other Works

Busoni composed operas, including Turandot and Doktor Faust, a series of orchestral works, including a Piano Concerto that also uses a male chorus in the finale, and various pieces of chamber music.

Piano Music

Of the various works Busoni composed or transcribed for the piano, particularly impressive is the famous arrangement of Bach’s Chaconne for unaccompanied violin (BWV 1004), one of a number of works based on Bach. His Fantasia after Bach and the much revised Fantasia contrappuntistica demonstrate something of his musical preoccupations.