The six sonatinas for piano of Ferruccio Busoni

Pianist Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924), famous for his virtuosity, compelling interpretations and mastery of the art of transcription, also composed prolifically in most every genre. From among his piano compositions, the six sonatinas stand as pieces technically less challenging than the others, though they are equals with regard to their interpretive difficulties. Written between 1910 and 1920, they are products of Busoni's maturity, a maturity inseparable from the reflection of his comprehension of several centuries of musical styles including the developments of the early part of the twentieth century. The very different styles of the sonatinas themselves provide a fair sampling of Busoni's great diversity. The sonatinas are also as formally different from one another as their styles, growing progressively further away from the traditional sonata idea and following, instead, unique abstract programs and formal agendas. Busoni's aesthetics are reviewed and the sonatinas are discussed in context of his entire output. Each sonatina is analyzed, and performance considerations are discussed in light of the analyses.

Grantor dc:publisher

Boston University

Year dc:date.issued

1987

Author dc:creator

• Mockovak, Holly E.

• Musical arts

Statement dc:rights

• This work is being made available in OpenBU by permission of its author, and is available for research purposes only. All rights are reserved to the author.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2144/49206

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.bu.edu:2144/49206