Berceuse elegiaque (Elegiac Lullaby), Op. 42

Quick Facts

• Single movement piece for orchestra
• Written in 1909
• Premiered in 1911 at Carnegie Hall performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Gustav Mahler
• Dedication: “In memoriam Anna Busoni, n. Weiss” (the composer’s mother)
  • Busoni’s subtitle for the piece is “The man’s lullaby at his mother’s coffin”¹

About the Piece

• A “berceuse” is a composition that resembles a lullaby; Busoni added the “elegiac” description for the piece given it’s funereal dedication.
• Busoni’s mournful Berceuse elegiaque is impressionistic in nature. According to Grove Music Online,

“In the Berceuse élégiaque (1909), [Busoni] sensed that finally he had found his individual sound world and succeeded in ‘dissolving the form into feeling.’”

• Fun fact – the piece was originally written for solo piano²

1. “Berceuse élégiaque, Op.42, BV 252a (Busoni, Ferruccio),” IMSLP, accessed April 5, 2023, https://imslp.org/wiki/Berceuse_%C3%A9l%C3%A9giaque%2C_Op.42%2C_BV_252a_(Busoni%2C_Ferruccio).
2. Antony Beaumont, “Busoni, Ferruccio,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed April 5, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000004438.