Bach-Busoni Chaconne: A Piano Transcription Analysis

In 1893 Ferruccio Busoni transcribed, for the piano, the famous Bach Chaconne for violin solo from the Partita No.2 in D minor. Numerous transcriptions of this piece for different various instruments exist; however Busoni's transcription stands above all others. The purpose of this study was to analyze what the famous, twentieth-century pianist did when he transcribed Bach's Chaconne. What information exists on the topic comes primarily from pianists who dared to learn this exceptionally difficult, beautiful composition. Busoni's accomplishments lie in the new concept, a conceptual transcription, which has two roots: understanding how, historically, we are connected to the music, and how once genres have a special meaning in the twentieth-century. Every generation of musicians brings their own specific point of view and interpretation. Busoni lived on the border of the two centuries and, in his transcription, reveled in several issues overlooked by the previous generation. With his keen understanding of the piece, Busoni highlighted many different genres present in the music, thus allowing recognition of the last movement of the Partita No. 2 in D minor as a Requiem for Bach's wife. By underscoring the genres, Busoni used them as strata. The idea of strata comes from the aesthetics of “play,” and from a different approach to the quality of sound on piano originally intended for a high string instrument. Busoni's arrangement of the texture added both orchestral quality and stereophonic perception. The strata add to a certain reading of Bach's original. Busoni promoted a dramatic approach opening the possibility of reading the chaconne as a multi-layered form. Through Busoni', we see the possibility not only of a tripartite, variation form, but also a composition, with the elements of a concerto, and a sonata. Who could imagine, that a composition written by a young composer at the fin de siecle, intended for practical use by pianists, would subtly influence so many contemporaries and generations, that they will find his findings and music inspiring. Adviser: Dr. Mark K. Clinton

Deux sonates et La Coquette pour forte piano [Música notada] : oeuvre VI

Encuadernado con: A favourite concerto for the piano-forte or harpsichord with accompaniments for two violins and a violoncello ; Trois trios pour le clavecin ou piano-forte avec violon [et] violoncelle : oeuvre 41. Liv. I y Liv. II ; Haydn's celebrated overture composed for & performed at Mr. Salomon's concert Hanover-Square : adapted for the piano-forte, with an accompaniment for a violin & violoncello ad libitum. N. 2 y N. 3 ; [Sonatas] ; Sonata for the pianoforte or harpsichord : op. 66

2e [i.e. deuxième] sonate pour violoncelle et piano /

Mode of access: Internet.

Concerto no. 17 (first movement) in D minor for violin.

Pl. no. 16481.

Erstes Trio, in F dur, Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncello /

Accompanied by the parts for violin and cello.

Chaconne, from the fourth sonata for violin solo /

Bach's original violin work with added accompaniments by Schumann and by Mendelssohn.

Sonates pour piano et violon.

v. 1. Sonates, no. 1-9.--v. 2. Sonates, no. 10-18.--v. 3. Violon, no. 1-9.--v. 4. Violon, no. 10-18.

Quintette en ré mineur pour piano, deux violons, alto et violoncelle. Op. 89.

Mode of access: Internet.

Première rhapsodie, pour orchestre avec clarinette principale. [music] : Réduction pour clarinette et piano.

Mode of access: Internet.

Trio, A minor, for pianoforte, violin and violoncello, op. 50. [music] /

"Edition Eulenburg, no. 251".

Quartet, G minor, for pianoforte, violin, viola and violoncello, Köchel-Edition, no. 478. [music] /

Mode of access: Internet.

Concerto pour violin. [music] /

Originally for violin and orchestra ; arranged for violin and piano.

Le calme : pour baryton, violon et piano /

Violin part also shows vocal line.

Souvenirs de la Muette de Portici : 3eme. fantaisie pour piano et violon /

Mode of access: Internet.

Poème élégiaque : pour violon avec accompagnement de piano ou d'orchestra, op. 12 /

Distributor from stamp on t.p.