Ferruccio Busoni ： Fantasia and Fugue on Ad Nos ad salutarem undam (Liszt)

This large-scale transcription by Busoni adapts Liszt’s organ work for piano. Based on Meyerbeer’s chorale, it unfolds from a free and visionary fantasia into a tense fugue, creating a monumental sonority through weighty chords, a wide register, and complex counterpoint. In the opening sections, the phrasing of the melodies and the changing harmonies should be shaped with care; in the fugue, each voice must remain distinct while being gathered into a broad overall arc. Rather than relying solely on volume, the pianist should also attend to the movement of the inner voices and the shading of quieter passages, bringing the work’s architectural beauty into relief.