Romantic Piano Concerto Vol. 22 - Busoni: Piano Concerto
Back when the filmShinewas popular, Rachmaninoff'sThird Piano Concertobecame all the rage as a work making nearly suicidal demands of its soloist. But one mountain of challenges to the virtuoso you're not likely to encounter in live performance is the Piano Concerto of Ferruccio Busoni. Its dimensions areGuinness Bookmaterial: Lasting over 70 minutes and cast in five epic movements, it not only uses a gargantuan orchestra but calls for an invisible male chorus singing a mystical hymn of stunning beauty in the finale. But the concerto isn't just about grandiosity. Its complex, symbolic architecture gives the work a searching intensity more akin to the trajectory of a Mahler symphony. In his preoccupation with synthesizing elements from North and South, incorporating contrapuntal complexity and flowing Italianate lyricism, introspective gloom and fevered excitement, Busoni sounds something like a character out of Thomas Mann.Canadian pianistMarc-André Hamelin--who has made a specialty of neglected masterpieces--performs with a tremendous range of expression and theatrical flair, clearly holding his own against the earlier celebrated account ofJohn Ogdon. The sui generis nature of the piece requires an unusually high degree of sensitive interaction from the conductor. Mark Elder shows a magnificent grasp of Busoni's architectonic sensibility and his sculpting of musical space, as well as of the score's kaleidoscopic orchestration. Busoni may be bidding farewell to an entire tradition here, but it's his over-the-top originality that is likely to captivate you.--Thomas May