Ferruccio Busoni
1866 - 1924
Ferruccio Busoni was a German composer and pianist born in Italy. At the age of 7 he made his first public appearance and at 12 he conducted his own Stabat Mater.
He taught in Helsinki, Moscow and Boston before settling permanently in Berlin in 1894. He became famous as a virtuoso pianist and gave world premieres of works by important composers.
His most famous work during his lifetime, the opera Die Brautwahl (1910), was followed by the operas Arlecchino (1916) and Turandot (1917), but the unfinished and posthumously staged Doctor Faust is considered his masterpiece.
Of his orchestral works, his Piano Concerto (1904) is the most frequently performed. His numerous piano pieces include the Fantasia contrappuntistica (1910), six sonatinas (1910-20) and arrangements of organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Erik Satie
1866 - 1925
Antonín Dvořák
1841 - 1904
Bohemian (Czech) composer. As the son of a farmer and butcher, he was allowed to attend the organ school in Prague in 1857.
He played the viola in a theater orchestra under the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana, and finally found a permanent job that gave him plenty of time to compose.
Johannes Brahms helped publish Dvorák's works, and by 1880 his fame had spread across Europe.
As director of the new New York National Conservatory of Music (1892-95) he composed the symphony From the New World (1893), his most famous work, which is believed to be based on black spirituals and other American influences.
His music often draws on folk tunes and is considered an expression of Czech nationalism. He is very productive and best known for his orchestral and chamber music compositions.
