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
Giacomo Antonio Puccini was a Italian composer. Born into a family of organists and choir directors, he was inspired to write operas in 1876 after listening to Giuseppe Verdi's Aida. He studied at the Milan Conservatory with Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-86).
Puccini took part in a competition with his first opera Le villi (1883); although he lost, a group of his friends subsidized his production, and it premiered with great success.
His second, Edgar (1889), was a failure, but Manon Lescaut (1893) earned him international recognition.
His mature operas included La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), Madam Butterfly (1904), and The Girl of the Golden West (1910). All four are tragic love stories; his use of the orchestra was refined and he created a dramatic structure that balanced plot and conflict with moments of calm, contemplation and lyric poetry.
They remained extremely popular well into the 21st century. At the time of his death he was the most popular opera composer in the world; his unfinished Turandot was completed by Franco Alfano (1875-1954).
Giacomo Antonio Puccini
1858 - 1924
Giacomo Antonio Puccini was a Italian composer. Born into a family of organists and choir directors, he was inspired to write operas in 1876 after listening to Giuseppe Verdi's Aida. He studied at the Milan Conservatory with Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-86).
Puccini took part in a competition with his first opera Le villi (1883); although he lost, a group of his friends subsidized his production, and it premiered with great success.
His second, Edgar (1889), was a failure, but Manon Lescaut (1893) earned him international recognition.
His mature operas included La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), Madam Butterfly (1904), and The Girl of the Golden West (1910). All four are tragic love stories; his use of the orchestra was refined and he created a dramatic structure that balanced plot and conflict with moments of calm, contemplation and lyric poetry.
They remained extremely popular well into the 21st century. At the time of his death he was the most popular opera composer in the world; his unfinished Turandot was completed by Franco Alfano (1875-1954).
