Help
Skip to main content
Basket 0 items, $0.00
24th February 2024

Presto Music Classical Podcast, Episode 48: Doubling Brahms - Busoni and his violin concerto with Francesca Dego

by David Smith

Francesca DegoViolinist Francesca Dego kicks off the Busoni centenary celebrations with her new album, pairing his concerto with that of Brahms - a juxtaposition that might seem strange, until you realise (as Francesca describes) the deep connections between the two works, so much so that Busoni's concerto could even be seen as a direct homage to Brahms's.

As well as discussing Busoni himself - the prolific arranger, the unorthodox music theorist, the passionate advocate of performers taking liberties with music - we talk about Italian composers trying to be German (with varying degrees of success); beards (or the lack of them); the secret to marital bliss in musical couples (not related to facial hair); and the rather 'wand chooses the wizard' nature of a performer's bond with their instrument.

Image credit: Davide Cerati

The recordings mentioned in this episode...

Brahms & Busoni: Violin Concertos

Brahms & Busoni: Violin Concertos

Francesca Dego (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevka

Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV

Paganini & Wolf–Ferrari Violin Concertos

Paganini & Wolf–Ferrari Violin Concertos

Francesca Dego (violin), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Daniele Rustioni

Available Formats: MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV

Max Richter: Vivaldi Recomposed

Max Richter: Vivaldi Recomposed

Daniel Hope (violin), Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin, André de Ridder

Available Format: CD

A Cathedral of Sound - The Bach Busoni Transcriptions

A Cathedral of Sound - The Bach Busoni Transcriptions

Geoffrey Madge (piano)

Available Formats: MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV

David Smith - Head of Digital

David writes as an early music specialist for Presto Music and Early Music America, and sings with the English vocal groups Ex Cathedra and Armonico Consort and as a lay clerk at St Philip’s Cathedral, Birmingham, UK.

Download queue