Feruccio Busoni
Feruccio Busoni was born on April 1, 1866 in Italy. His father was a clarinettist and his mother was a pianist Encouraged from an extremely young age, he studied both instruments with his parents and gave his first recital at the age of eight, which received good reviews by the press as well as the public in Germany. By the time he was ten years old, Busoni had gained a reputation as a composer. Two years later, he studied composition with William Mayer. At the young age of fifteen, Busoni became a member of the Reale Accademia Filharmonica of Bologna. After his membership was confirmed, Busoni moved to Vienna and became acquainted with Brahms.
In 1886, he moved to Leipzig on Brahms's recommendation, and came into contact with Tchaikovsky, Delius, Grieg, and Mahler. Two years later, he released the first of several of his editions of Bach. He received the Rubenstein prize and was married in 1890. This same year, he left for New York and Boston to pursue a career as a pianist. Busoni moved to Berlin in 1894. He continued to compose music and perform.
Busoni made an immense contribution to electronic music when he wrote his book Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music in 1907, having heard about the new instrument created by Thaddeus Cahill, the telharmonium. In Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music , he predicted the need for electronic instruments such as the telharmonium and made the development of electronic music known to a vast number of musicians and composers. This book attracted the attention of Edgard Varèse, who had also seen the need for new instruments, but did not know of their existence. Busoni and Varèse became acquaintances and both remained interested in the role electronic music was to play.
When World War I struck Europe, Busoni moved to Switzerland. It was during his residency in Switzerland that Busoni directly influenced another pioneer of electronic music, Otto Luening . Luening, who was at the time looking for a composition instuctor, became a student of Busoni and was influenced by his views toward new music, particularly electronic instruemtns and music. After the war, Busoni returned to Berlin, while Luening returned to the United States. Busoni continued composing, writing, and teaching throughout his life. One of his most famous pieces, Doktor Faustus was completed after his death by a close friend. Feruccio Busoni died in 1924 in Berlin. /P>
