Ferruccio Busoni, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Impact of Anti-Germanismus around World War I

Abstract

On March 10–11, 2017, Symphony Hall in Boston resounded with the strains of Ferruccio Busoni’s approximately seventyminutelong Piano Concerto in C Major, BV 247 (1901–4), which the Boston Symphony Orchestra was performing for the first time.1 Conductor Sakari Oramo and pianist Kirill Gerstein performed impressively, and critics provided largely positive reviews of the piece.2 The belatedness of this performance of Busoni’s piano concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra is striking, given Busoni’s close connection with that institution. It was Karl Muck, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1912 to 1918, who directed the concerto’s premiere in 1904 in Berlin.3 Busoni (1866–1924) also appeared as soloist thirtysix times between 1891 and 1911, more than with any other major U.S. orchestra during his lifetime.4 In addition, the Boston Symphony Orchestra performed more of his compositions during his lifetime than any other orchestral institution in the United States.