Busoni: Music for Two Pianos (2005)

While there have historically been very few recordings of Ferruccio Busoni's massively conceived and monumentally executed Fantasia Contrappuntistica for two pianos, the amazing thing is that nearly all of them have been worthy of the work. From Peter Serkin and Richard Goode's stunningly architectural performance on Columbia through Ursula Oppens and Paul Jacobs' staggeringly virtuosic performance on Nonesuch to András Schiff, and, once again, Peter Serkin's breathtakingly musical performance on ECM, Busoni's masterpiece ... Read More

While there have historically been very few recordings of Ferruccio Busoni's massively conceived and monumentally executed Fantasia Contrappuntistica for two pianos, the amazing thing is that nearly all of them have been worthy of the work. From Peter Serkin and Richard Goode's stunningly architectural performance on Columbia through Ursula Oppens and Paul Jacobs' staggeringly virtuosic performance on Nonesuch to András Schiff, and, once again, Peter Serkin's breathtakingly musical performance on ECM, Busoni's masterpiece has been exceptionally fortunate. Even this exceedingly intellectual performance by Allan Schiller and John Humphreys only misses greatness by a whisker. Schiller and Humphreys clearly have the intelligence, the technique, and the sheer stamina to play the work: all the lines are clear, all the harmonies are clean, and all the contrapuntal devices are lucidly articulated. Nor do they lack the commitment: the listener never doubts that Schiller and Humphreys have considered every... Read Less