Ferruccio Busoni: Supreme Art of Counterpoint and bold Innovation Giuseppe Mariotti

• Ferruccio Busoni (1866 - 1924): Macchiette Medioevali Op. 33:
• 1 Busoni: Macchiette Medioevali Op. 33: Dama 01:42
• 2 Busoni: Macchiette Medioevali Op. 33: Cavaliere 01:25
• 3 Busoni: Macchiette Medioevali Op. 33: Paggio 01:37
• 4 Busoni: Macchiette Medioevali Op. 33: Guerriero 01:48
• 5 Busoni: Macchiette Medioevali Op. 33: Astrologo 02:57
• 6 Busoni: Macchiette Medioevali Op. 33: Trovatore 04:29
• Fantasia contrappuntistica:
• 7 Busoni: Fantasia contrappuntistica 38:34
• Zehn Variationen über ein Präludium von Chopin Op. 22 (2. Version):
• 8 Busoni: Zehn Variationen über ein Präludium von Chopin Op. 22 (2. Version) 15:34
• Total Runtime 01:08:06

Info for Ferruccio Busoni: Supreme Art of Counterpoint and bold Innovation

Ferruccio Busoni stands as a towering figure in the musical landscape of the turn of the century. His unbridled activity as a man and musician shaped his entire life, and his universal genius allowed him to reach absolute and, unfortunately often misunderstood, artistic heights. His impressive virtuosity never seemed imposing, and his avant-garde and highly original musical vision became legendary. Beloved by audiences since his youth, he often baffled critics. His later compositions in particular rank among the most important and brilliant of his time: his works for piano and especially those for orchestra and opera influenced an entire generation of musicians. He vehemently advocated for the performance and publication of works and critical essays of then-contemporary music. Arnold Schoenberg, for example, who succeeded him as teacher of the composition class at the Berlin Academy of Music, found great support in his work through Busoni. Busoni's literary education and keen intellect allowed him to write the text of his operas himself, to correspond with the greatest figures of his time, and to publish some essential works, of which the most significant is the Entwurf einer neuen Ästhetik der Tonkunst (Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music) (1907), in which he describes pioneering intuitions, such as the dodecaphonic system, microtonality, and new notation systems, and even makes predictions about electronic music. He was the inspirer of a new piano construction, namely the Imperial model of the Viennese piano manufacturer Bösendorfer, which was also used for this recording.

Giuseppe Mariotti, piano

Giuseppe Mariotti
A synthesis of tradition and exegesis, revealed through familiar paths and unorthodox choices: these words are used to describe Giuseppe Mariotti’s performances, that never fail to throw new light on well-known or neglected works, especially those by particularly demanding composers. In this role, his recording of the complete piano works by Ferruccio Busoni received high praises from international audiences and the music press.

His concert career as soloist and chamber musician brought him throughout Europe and the United States, the Russian Federation and Israel, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and many other countries. Numerous radio and television stations like ORF, RAI, NDR, NHK, have broadcasted his live and studio performances from disparate venues such as the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna or one of the most ancient temples in Kyoto.

Giuseppe Mariotti’s broad repertoire ranges from the works of Johann Sebastian Bach to those of contemporary composers, with a special affection towards the Viennese classics, which he also performs on period instruments from his own collection. He is a Bösendorfer artist.

After studying piano, organ and composition at the Piacenza Conservatory in Italy, from 1982 he attended the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst (now University of Music) in Vienna in the class of Prof. Hans Graf, graduating in piano performance, and chamber music as well.

In his position as Music Director of Vienna’s Minoritenkirche from 1995 to 2003, he was an indirect successor of Antonio Salieri, in whose name he founded the “Ensemble Salieri Wien”, a chamber orchestra that staged about one hundred performances of little-known works from the baroque to the 21st century.

Upon invitation by the Vienna Music University, in 2003 he took over a piano performing class at the Music Faculty of the Tokushima Bunri University of Tokushima, Japan. In April 2007 he became full time professor and Dean of the Music Faculty, a position he still holds today.

Since 2009 he teaches the Wiener Musikseminar summer courses at the Vienna Music University.

From 2008 to 2010 he was Guest Professor at the Kobe College of Music. He is Artistic Director of the Tokushima Music Competition and member of the jury of several international competitions. He holds regular masterclasses in Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul and Vienna, and writes for music magazines such as Yamaha’s „Piano Book“ [Piano no Hon], where he held a popular column about piano technique.

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