Chopin's Preludes ³

There are so many ways of playing music that even little differences are noticeable, but what happens when one can hear three separate generations playing the same music?

On the Piano this Sunday hear three different generations playing the evocative preludes of Frederic Chopin. Going back to a pianist active in the 19th century, Ferruccio Busoni, who was not one to be shy concerning his approach to other composers music, joins us courtesy of a 1920's piano roll, then there is the great-all-rounder, Claudio Arrau and his beautiful touch as recorded by Philips and to bring us one of today's generation, the young French-Canadian pianist Jean-Francois Latour. All are playing the memorable preludes of Chopin and be warned, the differences are not subtle.

Hear part one of this Chopin-fest this Sunday afternoon at 5 on KPAC & KTXI.

host, Randy Anderson

Mapping out a Strategy

Serious Music got big and very philosophical at the end of the 19th century. Mahler's Symphonies are just one example. A friend of Gustav, the piano virtuoso Ferruccio Busoni also wanted to try the waters of big, serious minded compositions with his Concerto in C Op. 39. This massive work stretches more than an hour and has the pianist work hard just about all the time. The music starts before one's birth and takes us through head strong youth, a growing maturity and success, to finally old age and the recognition of the infinite and a dream of existence in the afterlife. To help explain the path of the concerto Busoni sketched out an architectural drawing that shows us a symbolic map of this musical journey.

On the Piano this Sunday hear the second part of this amazing work, with one of the great performances of this highly challenging work when John Ogden takes on one of the supreme high water marks of Romanticism this Sunday afternoon at 5 on KPAC & KTXI.

host, Randy Anderson

How soon they grow up...

It happens to children and Piano Concertos! In Ferruccio Busoni's Concerto in C the Piano is the protagonist growing, exploring and learning to master the world in which it finds itself. On the Piano Sunday Part II of Busoni's massive opus 39 which pits man against the tumult in which we find ourselves. Find out what it all means, at least as Busoni envisioned it, this Sunday afternoon at 5 on the Piano on KPAC & KTXI.

host, Randy Anderson

A piano concerto with a mid-life crisis?

Yes there is one, the magnificent and monumental Concerto in C by Ferruccio Busoni. In it the piano is a metaphor; symbolic of the life of an artist from before birth to the last breath and an acceptance of the infinite. On the Piano this Sunday part two of the Busoni concerto that will take us from middle-aged crazy to the end of our time.

The piano this Sunday afternoon at 5 on KPAC and KTXI.

host, Randy Anderson

What is pictured to the left is a map of a piece of music. The three buildings and two fantastic landscapes represent the 5 movements of Ferruccio Busoni's monumental Piano Concerto in C. While most concerti were composed to show off the capabilities of the soloist, his work takes on life itself from before we are born to the last breath in our bodies. This makes the concerto more like one of Gustav Mahler's transcendental symphonies than an evening's entertainment. So, it is not surprising that Busoni and Mahler were friends.

Tune into the cosmos this Sunday afternoon at 5 when we explore life through the music of Ferruccio Busoni - on the Piano.

host Randy Anderson

Hyphenated Names

There was a time with piano recital programs had many hyphenated names, like Wagner-Tausig, Beethoven-Liszt and Bach-Busoni. Even though we modern media types are used to hearing baroque music, even on ancient instruments, that wasn't the case in the late 19th century. Great musicians knew of Bach and his contributions, but how to share this music with an audience? The few harpsichords that survived were dilapidated antiques and the piano was considered better in every way so play baroque keyboard music on that. But, what about Bach's great organ works? There was no shortage of organists, but pianists wanted in on the act. It was Franz Liszt, the great transcriber that started the ball rolling by playing Bach's organ music in his concerts.

Later after an organ recital that the mother of one of Ferruccio Busoni's students suggested to the great pianist that he transcribe one of the works enjoyed during the concert for piano. Little did she know what she was starting. Now a days it is Busoni's transcriptions of Bach that are his most performed works.

The piano is the great imitator and can clip away harpsichord-like or fill a hall with its powerful bass like an organ, no wonder it is considered the universal instrument. On the Piano this Sunday Russian pianist Nikolai Demidenko plays the music of Bach through the transcriptions of Busoni and Liszt.

The Piano is heard Sunday afternoon at 5 on KPAC and KTXI.

host Randy Anderson