Ferruccio Busoni: Tra Mistico e Occulto Giuseppe Mariotti

• Ferruccio Busoni (1866 - 1924): Sonatina seconda:
• 1 Busoni: Sonatina seconda 09:15
• Sonatina in diem nativitatis Christi MCMXVII:
• 2 Busoni: Sonatina in diem nativitatis Christi MCMXVII 07:52
• Toccata. Preludio - Fantasia - Ciaccona, Quasi Presto, arditamente - Sostenuto, quasi Adagio - Allegro risoluto:
• 3 Busoni: Toccata. Preludio - Fantasia - Ciaccona, Quasi Presto, arditamente - Sostenuto, quasi Adagio - Allegro risoluto 10:49
• Elegien: Nr. 7 Berceuse (Andantino calmo):
• 4 Busoni: Elegien: Nr. 7 Berceuse (Andantino calmo) 05:54
• Fantasia contrappuntistica:
• 5 Busoni: Fantasia contrappuntistica 38:34
• Total Runtime 01:12:24

Info for Ferruccio Busoni: Tra Mistico e Occulto

"The Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music" (1906), the revolutionary treatise by Busoni which caused quite a stir in the European music scene of that era, is dedicated to the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, a "musician of words," from whose works the composer drew both the title and the character of the Elegies. Romanticism had already signaled a return to ancient mystical ideas, and with the turn of the century, a period laden with decadent expressions and tragic premonitions, mysticism found fervent advocates such as M. Maeterlinck, P. Claudel, and, in the German-speaking world, R. M. Rilke. Sartre wrote, "...the West was suffocating... Since it had no visible enemies, the bourgeoisie began to feast on the fear of its own shadow... there was talk of spiritualism and ectoplasms, the hereafter seemed so near..."

During those years, the arcane disciplines began to exert a significant influence on Busoni. He attended séances and became interested in occultism, spiritualism, and clairvoyance. He developed theories on the ability to see ghosts: humans could supposedly see— for brief moments—into the future or the past. "...It would be nothing more than a fleeting, uncertain glance cast—into the present or the past. Everything proceeds in the form of a circle, and so it must be for clairvoyance. It is a phenomenon similar to what happens at a radiotelegraphic station, which transmits to the same distance in all directions..."

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.

Booklet for Ferruccio Busoni: Tra Mistico e Occulto