An die Jugend
Encyclopedia
An die Jugend is a sequence (or collection) of pieces of classical music for solo piano
by Ferruccio Busoni
.
under four separate catalog numbers (Z 4755, Z 4756, Z 4757, and Z 4781). Each book takes about five minutes to play, and may be played separately, or together as a cycle. As in many other works by Busoni, it is compiled from transcribed, freely adapted, and original music.
, London, with Busoni as the pianist.
(BV 249), were later revised and combined with a new introduction and short linking passages presenting the thematic roots of the pieces and gluing them together into a single entity. The new piece, resembling a set of variations without a theme, Busoni entitled Sonatina (BV 257). This more advanced and forward-looking composition was the first of what would eventually be six "sonatinas" containing some of the most unique and original piano music of the early 20th century.
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
by Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
.
Plan of the work
The collection was written June–August 1909 and consists of four volumes, the last with an epilogue. It was published later in the same year by Zimmermann of LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
under four separate catalog numbers (Z 4755, Z 4756, Z 4757, and Z 4781). Each book takes about five minutes to play, and may be played separately, or together as a cycle. As in many other works by Busoni, it is compiled from transcribed, freely adapted, and original music.
Book 1: Preludietto, Fughetta ed Esercizio - this section uses impressionistImpressionist musicImpressionism in music was a tendency in European classical music, mainly in France, which appeared in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle of the twentieth century. Similarly to its precursor in the visual arts, musical impressionism focuses on a suggestion and an atmosphere...
harmoniesHarmonyIn music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
reminiscent of Claude DebussyClaude DebussyClaude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
. In the "Esercizio", chordChord (music)A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
s suggesting A major in the left hand are juxtaposed with passages in the right based on the whole tone scaleWhole tone scaleIn music, a whole tone scale is a scale in which each note is separated from its neighbors by the interval of a whole step. There are only two complementary whole tone scales, both six-note or hexatonic scales:...
.
Book 2: Preludio, Fuga e Fuga figurata (Studie nach J. S. Bach's Wohltemperiertem Klavier) - The "Preludio" and "Fuga" are almost unaltered transcriptions of the D major prelude and fugue from the first book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. The "Fuga figurata" presents elements of the prelude and fugue simultaneously.
Book 3: Giga, Bolero e Variazione (Studie nach Mozart) - The "Giga" is based on Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Eine kleine Gigue, K.Köchel-VerzeichnisThe Köchel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig von Köchel. It is abbreviated K or KV. For example, Mozart's Requiem in D minor was, according to Köchel's counting, the 626th piece Mozart composed....
574, the "Bolero" is based on the fandango in the Act III finale of The Marriage of FigaroThe Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, while the "Variazione" is a variation on the "Giga".
Book 4: Introduzione e Capriccio (Paganinesco) & Epilogo - The "Introduzione" is a transcription of the opening of Niccolò PaganiniNiccolò PaganiniNiccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
's Caprice No. 1124 Caprices for Solo Violin (Paganini)The 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1 was written by Niccolò Paganini between 1802 and 1817 and published in 1819. They are also designated as M.S. 25 in Maria Rosa Moretti and Anna Sorrento's Catalogo tematico delle musiche di Niccolò Paganini, which was published in 1982...
for solo violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and the "Capriccio" is an arrangement of his Caprice No. 1524 Caprices for Solo Violin (Paganini)The 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1 was written by Niccolò Paganini between 1802 and 1817 and published in 1819. They are also designated as M.S. 25 in Maria Rosa Moretti and Anna Sorrento's Catalogo tematico delle musiche di Niccolò Paganini, which was published in 1982...
, followed by a return of the material from the "Introduzione," but in modified and grandiose style. Busoni embellishes the originals, creating a difficult piece reminiscent of the elaborate early versions of Franz LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
's own Paganini transcriptions. In the epilogue, music from Book 1 returns. Although, as before, the harmonic language is impressionist and tonal centres are unclear, the piece closes with a cadenceCadence (music)In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...
in C major. (The epilogue is omitted, when the books are not played as a cycle.)
First performance
The first performance, of Books 2, 3, and 4 (without "Epilogo"), was on 16 October 1909 in Bechstein HallWigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
, London, with Busoni as the pianist.
The first Sonatina
The materials of Book 1, and the "Epilogo," all related and highly original compositions, and written in the new style first explored in ElegienElegies (Busoni)
Elegies by the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni is a set of solo piano pieces which can be played as a cycle or separately. Initially published in 1908 with six pieces, it was subsequently expanded to seven by the addition of the Berceuse...
(BV 249), were later revised and combined with a new introduction and short linking passages presenting the thematic roots of the pieces and gluing them together into a single entity. The new piece, resembling a set of variations without a theme, Busoni entitled Sonatina (BV 257). This more advanced and forward-looking composition was the first of what would eventually be six "sonatinas" containing some of the most unique and original piano music of the early 20th century.
Composition and publication details
- 1) Preludietto, Fughetta ed Esercizio
- •Composed: June 1909 (Beaumont)
- •Manuscript: Busoni Archive No. 264
- •Title: Preludietto [and] Fughetta
- •3 separate pages, written on one side only, unpaginated
- •Original publication: Leipzig: Jul. Heinr. Zimmermann, Copyright 1909, cat. no. Z. 4755, (11 pages)
- •Dedication: Josef Turczyński
- •Duration: 5 minutes (Beaumont)
- 2) Preludio, Fuga e Fuga figurata
- •Composed: July 1909
- •Manuscript: Busoni Archive No. 240
- •Title: Fuga figurata. (nach dem Prael. + Fuga aus dem W. Cl. v. J. S. Bach)
- •4 pages (1 notated, 2 blank, 1 notated)
- •Date: "3. Juli 1909 F. Busoni" (at the end of the composition)
- •Original publication: Leipzig: Jul. Heinr. Zimmermann, Copyright [1909], cat. no. Z. 4756, (11 pages)
- •Dedication: Louis Theodor Grünberg
- •Duration: 4 minutes (Beaumont)
- 3) Giga, Bolero e Variazione
- •Composed: July 1909 (B.)
- •Manuscript: Busoni Archive No. 240 (attachment)
- •Title: Variazione (Gigue – Bolero e Variazione) (d'après Mozart)
- •1 page with only 6 measures
- •Original publication: Leipzig: Jul. Heinr. Zimmermann, Copyright [1909], cat. no. Z. 4757, (11 pages)
- •Dedication: Leo Sirota
- •Duration: 4 minutes (Beaumont)
- 4) Introduzione e Capriccio (Paganinesco) & Epilogo
- •Composed: August 1909 (Beaumont)
- •Manuscript: unknown
- •Original publication: Leipzig: Jul. Heinr. Zimmermann, Copyright 1909, cat. no. Z. 4781, (13 pages)
- •Dedication: Louis Closson; Emile R. Blanchet (Epilogo)
- •Duration: 7 minutes (Beaumont)
- •Note: Four of the dedicatees (Turczyński, Gruenberg, Sirota, Closson) were master class pupils of Busoni in Vienna, Jul 1908 (Beaumont, 1987, p. 91), while Blanchet had been a pupil at a master class in Weimar, Jul-Sep, 1899 (Dent).
- •Later Publications:
- 1) Leipzig: Breitkopf & HärtelBreitkopf & HärtelBreitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf . The catalogue currently contains over 1000 composers, 8000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on music. The name "Härtel" was added when Gottfried...
, n.d. [1909], cat. nos. E.B. 4944-4947. - 2) Milan: Carisch & Jänichen, n.d.
- 3) No. 2: In Bach-Busoni Edition, Volume IV, 1916.
- 4) No. 4 (without Epilogo): In KlavierübungKlavierübung (Busoni)The Klavierübung , by the Italian pianist-composer Ferruccio Busoni, is a compilation of piano exercises and practice pieces, including transcriptions of works by other composers and original compositions of his own....
, Book 10, 1925.
- 1) Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel
- •Ref: Dent, pp. 125, 224; Beaumont, pp. 91, 148-157, 368; Sitsky, pp. 65-66, 206-208, 264-266, 289-290, 373, 374; Kindermann, p. 242; Roberge, p. 34.