Bidspirit auction | [MUSIC AUTOGRAPHS] - FERRUCCIO BUSONI

[MUSIC AUTOGRAPHS] - FERRUCCIO BUSONI (1866–1924) - An unusually personal autograph letter - FERRUCCIO BUSONI (1866–1924) - “I have great hopes for this summer, for my work and for becoming myself again” An unusually personal autograph letter signed to Dorothy Rich, describing illness, bereavement and exhaustion during his American concert tour, Cincinnati, 31 March 1911 Autograph letter signed “Vôtre Ferruccio Busoni”, in French, to Dorothy Rich. Cincinnati, 31 March 1911. Five pages on five leaves, small quarto, written in dark ink on stationery of the Hotel Sinton, Cincinnati, together with the original illustrated Hotel Sinton envelope, addressed in another hand to “Miss Dorothy Rich, 255 West, 91st Street, New York”, postmarked Cincinnati, 31 March 1911. A remarkably candid letter from Busoni at a moment of considerable physical and emotional strain during his American concert tour, in which he writes openly of bereavement, illness and exhaustion, and of his hope that the coming summer will allow him to return to his work and “become myself again”. Addressing his correspondent affectionately as “Chère Dorothy”, Busoni begins by thanking her for her “exquisite” letter and the beautiful things she has once again written to him. He has, however, detected a note of suffering beneath her charming youth and asks what could possibly be troubling her. Busoni then turns to his own condition in an unusually confessional passage. He tells Rich that he has recently endured severe physical and emotional suffering, compounded by exhaustion that has left him less able to withstand these blows: “J’ai passé dernièrement par des souffrances physiques et morales assez rudes et grandes fatigues m’ont rendu moins résistant contre ces assauts.” (“I have recently been through some fairly severe physical and emotional suffering, and great fatigue has left me less able to withstand these blows.”) He first mentions the unexpected and distressing death of his dear Philippe, which had deprived him of all joy. He then reveals that he himself has twice fallen ill but, despite his condition, has been obliged to continue fulfilling his professional commitments, travelling and giving concerts. Having just returned from Portland after several days of travel, Busoni reports that he is now feeling better. Yet the demands of his career remain relentless: approximately ten further weeks of travelling still lie ahead of him, much of it spent “sur le chemin de fer” (“on the railway”). The letter becomes particularly revealing when Busoni reflects on the effect of these experiences upon his sense of himself. He places considerable hope in the coming summer, both for his work and for a recovery of his former self: “J’espère beaucoup de cet été pour mes travaux et pour redevenir moi-même; j’en ai perdu un peu la trace et je n’ai été pas heureux.” (“I have great hopes for this summer, for my work and for becoming myself again; I have rather lost track of myself and I have not been happy.”) The passage gives unusual insight into Busoni’s state of mind during the exhausting life of an international virtuoso. Behind the public career of constant travel and performance emerges a more vulnerable figure, conscious of having temporarily lost his sense of himself and looking towards a period of creative work and relative stability. The opening and closing of the letter reveal the warmth of Busoni’s relationship with Dorothy Rich. His concern for her state of mind is matched by his willingness to confide his own grief, illness and unhappiness. He concludes affectionately: “Merci et bons saluts.?Je vous embrasse, Vôtre Ferruccio Busoni.” (“Thank you and warm greetings. I embrace you. Yours, Ferruccio Busoni.”) Dorothy Rich and the Busoni correspondence The identification of the recipient as Dorothy Rich is confirmed by the original envelope and by independent archival evidence. A further autograph letter from Busoni to Dorothy Rich, dated 14 April 1911, only two weeks after the present letter, is preserved in the Ferruccio Busoni Nachlass at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Mus.Nachl. F. Busoni B II, 5835). The survival of this further substantial letter shows that the present communication formed part of an established correspondence rather than an isolated social note. The unusually personal nature of Busoni’s language makes it a particularly revealing document of their relationship. Provenance / Literature: The present letter is identifiable with the autograph formerly described by Kotte Autographs, catalogue lot 556, as an autograph letter signed, Cincinnati, 31 March 1911, five pages on five leaves, small quarto, to Dorothy Rich in New York. A further letter from Busoni to Dorothy Rich, dated 14 April 1911, is preserved in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Musikabteilung, Ferruccio Busoni Nachlass, Mus.Nachl. F. Busoni B II, 5835. Two items: autograph letter signed, five pages, Cincinnati, 31 March 1911;