Post by Slinger on Nov 5, 2021 17:17:21 GMT
Continuing with my love of British classical composers, William Busch, who is not to be confused with Adolf Busch.
Busch was born in 1901, in London. His parents were originally from Germany and later went through the naturalization process to become citizens of the United Kingdom. His musical studies took him to London; Berlin, Germany; and the United States.
Busch learned musical composition under English composer John Ireland and Dutch composer Bernard van Dieren. He took instruction from piano tutor Mabel Lander. His piano skills were honed by classical pianist Egon Petr.
After his education, Busch came back to England and worked for a time as a concert pianist He travelled and performed as a concert pianist in South Africa and the United States. After his work as a concert pianist, Busch subsequently devoted himself in the latter part of his career to musical composition. He switched from performing regularly, to composition mainly, because of his affliction with stage fright.
Busch composed a piano concerto - which is somewhat "darker" in nature than his Cello Concerto and is also included here - for the BBC Contemporary Music concert which he himself performed in 1938 It's also rather dramatic in places, without straying too close to melodramatic in my opinion.
Between 1938–1939, Busch corresponded regularly with his composer colleague, Gerald Finzi. Their letters mainly focused on the sanctions imposed on Jews at the time in Germany by Adolf Hitler, with Finzi arguing staunchly against segregation. Busch's pacifism during World War II left himself and fellow composer William Wordsworth "out in the cold" politically speaking, and musically too in terms of finding an audience for their work.
This Cello Concerto was written between 1940 and 1941, and was given its world premiere at The Proms in 1943 (Prom 48 on Friday 13th of August of that year to be precise) and bears a dedication to Florence Hooton, who played it that night.
GRAMOPHONE describes this album thusly... The Cello Concerto… proves a beautifully wrought, enviably terse yet warm-hearted score, its modal lyricism and appealingly ruminative manner strikingly prescient of Finzi's gorgeous Cello Concerto… the Piano Concerto wears a knottier, more harmonically adventurous demeanour... its meaty opening Allegro and finale (a resourceful theme and 32 variations) framing a bittersweet central Allegretto Tranquillo. As one might expect from the calibre of the artists involved, the performances are all one could wish for.
I don't. I just say that both pieces are wonderful additions to the British canon.
Busch died tragically young, aged just 43, the victim of a brain haemorrhage - shortly after the birth of his daughter, Julia - on 30 January 1945 in Woolacombe, North Devon. At the time he was in the early stages of receiving significant recognition for his music works. Music critic John Amis wrote upon his death of his impact: "Recognition will not cease now, for his work has permanent values."
In 2010, Busch's work was highlighted at the Fourth Triennial Weekend of English Song, Ludlow, Shropshire, where the artistic director of the program called him an "unsung" composer and classed his compositions amongst the works of Muriel Herbert and Martin Shaw (probably not the bloke from The Professionals and Judge John Deed) and Raphael Wallfisch released an album in 2014, British Music for Cello and Piano (on Naxos, I believe), featuring compositions by Busch.
Let me know what you think, and as it's not exactly a lengthy piece, give the piano concerto a go too; it's quite a contrast.
Busch, despite the kind words he's received of late, is probably another of those "lost" British composers, and I hope now that I may have played a small part in remedying that situation.