On December 28th, 1941, Dimitri Mitropoulos led the New York Philharmonic in a concert commemorating the music of Busoni, with whom the Greek conductor studied composition. Likewise, the program’s soloists Egon Petri and Joseph Szigeti were close Busoni associates who championed his music against the changing tides of fashion. Broadcast airchecks survive for all but one piece performed on the concert, and these recordings are issued here, I believe, for the first time anywhere. The performances are mesmerizing. You won’t take issue with Busoni’s odd revamping of Mozart’s Idomeneo Overture, given Mitropoulos’ shapely, virile reading. Petri is on rare form in the Indian Fantasy, dispatching its technical challenges with no apparent effort, and a big sound to match. And Szigeti commands the Violin Concerto’s solo part with a less tremulous bow arm and sweeping sense of line than in his 1954 studio recording (CBS Masterworks). The New York Philharmonic plays with virtuosity and conviction at every turn. Filling out the disc is an excerpt from a 1965 talk Szigeti gave at Harvard University, where he recalls his relationship with Busoni. The transfers present the original 78 rpm aircheck lacquers “as is”, with no noise reduction. A noticeable drop in pitch occurring two minutes into the Violin Concerto, though, should have been corrected.
