This article presents a list of compositions by Ferruccio Busoni, including a large number of early works, most of which remain unpublished. The earliest preserved pieces were written when he was barely seven years old. Over 200 of the total of 303 original compositions were produced before the age of twenty.
For a more selective list of recorded works, see Ferruccio Busoni discography.
Busoni also produced a number of cadenzas, transcriptions, and editions. For a complete list see List of adaptations by Ferruccio Busoni.
Introductory notes
Opus numbers Busoni's opus numbers are confusing. Initially he numbered each work as he wrote it. Upon reaching Op. 40 he began assigning opus numbers of unpublished youthful works to new compositions. Later he started again from Op. 30, adding an "a" to Op. 30 to 36. From Op. 41 the numbering is fairly regular although it bears little relationship to the actual date of composition, and many compositions were published without opus number.Dent (1933), p. 337. Among unpublished compositions, some have two opus numbers. Because of their confusing nature Roberge recommended against using them and eliminated them from his List of Works.Roberge (1991), p. xix However, since opus numbers are written on manuscripts, included on published scores, used for identification of compositions by many recordings, and included in the standard reference works by Dent (1933), Kindermann (1980), Beaumont (1985), and Sitsky (2008), they are given here as an aid in identification. The user should be aware, however, that a particular opus number may refer to more than one item and says very little about the date of composition or publication.
Catalog numbers The letters BV (Busoni-Verzeichnis [Busoni Catalog]) followed by a number are used for identification of Busoni's original compositions."List of Works" in Roberge, pp. 8–63."Selected List of Compositions" in Couling, pp. 357–368.Among web sites using "BV" to identify the Busoni catalog are: 1) The Busoni International Piano Competition. Examples may be found with this Google search. Retrieved 17 August 2009. 2) Centro Studi Musicali Ferruccio Busoni. Examples may be found with this Google search. Retrieved 17 August 2009. The BV numbers are based on the first comprehensive catalog of Busoni's unpublished as well as published works prepared by Jürgen Kindermann. The letters KiV are also sometimes used,For examples of the use of the letters KiV see: 1) Musical Heritage Society web site (Retrieved 17 March 2009); 2) Amazon.com product page (Retrieved 17 March 2009). as well as the abbreviations Kind-Œuvres pour clarinette et piano () and K.Busoni: Clarinet Chamber Music / Klöcker, Genuit, Et Al at Although Kindermann himself did not specify any letters to be used for referring to his catalog, he has agreed to the use of the abbreviation BV.Letter dated 20 January 1981 to Roberge (pp. xix, xxviii) The catalog is not strictly chronological, since it frequently incorporates published works by the date of publication rather than the date of composition.Beaumont (1985), p. 355. When the catalog number is preceded by the letters BV B, for example, Ten Chorale Preludes by Bach, BV B 27, it refers to a cadenza, transcription, or adaptation (see List of adaptations by Ferruccio Busoni).
Catalog of original compositions Note: This list is not yet complete. The "Details" column needs additional work. BV catalog numbers are from Roberge. Titles and opus numbers are listed as in Beaumont,Beaumont (1985), pp. 355–373. except as noted. Titles are in the original language, except for instrumentation and generic terms, such as "string quartet." For example, Beaumont partially translates "Berceuse pour le piano," to "Berceuse, for piano." Additional title information provided by Roberge, for example, a key signature not found in the original title, is sometimes added in parentheses. For works with text, the first line is typically given, followed by the name of the poet in parentheses. Translations, when provided, are in brackets. Dates of composition and durations are from Beaumont, unless otherwise indicated. Dedications are from Roberge.
Busoni Archive: Most of Busoni's unpublished early manuscripts, as well as those of later works, have been preserved in the Busoni-Nachlaß [Busoni-Archive]. The collection consists of 366 cataloged items, many of which were lost during the Second World War, and after the war were divided between Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Musikabteilung, in West Berlin and the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, Musikabteilung, in East Berlin. Kindermann lists the locations and manuscript numbers of each work, for those manuscripts which were available until the year he published his catalog (1980). Some of the lost items reappeared later; most are now at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow.Sitsky, p. 383; Roberge, p. xix. After the fall of the Berlin wall, the two libraries were reunited as the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Sitsky (pp. 363–383) has an appendix listing manuscripts (with numbers, locations, titles and/or a short description), including those lost, which may yet reappear, as well as those not part of the Busoni-Archive, which are either not numbered or are numbered with a different system. The Busoni-Archive manuscript numbers provided by Sitsky are prefixed with the letters "SB", a procedure which has been adopted here as well.
Abbreviations: acc., according to; arr., arrangement; SB, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin; B&H, Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig (unless otherwise indicated); cat., catalog; ded., dedicated to; dur., duration; frag, fragment; fp, first performance; (score), link to score at the International Music Score Library Project; instr., instrumentation; MS, manuscript; pub., published; rev., revised; unpub., unpublished.
BV 1 to 100
Go to: BV 101 | BV 201 | Appendix