Indian Fantasy

The Indian Fantasy (Indianische Fantasie) is a fantasy for piano and orchestra by Ferruccio Busoni. Composed in 1913, it was first performed in Zürich in January, 1916, under the direction of Volkmar Andreae. The piece is based on several melodies and rhythms from various American Indian tribes; Busoni had received them from American ethnomusicologist Natalie Curtis Burlin. The fantasy describes the American prairie, and is in three movements:

• Fantasy
• Canzona
• Finale

References

• Curtis, Natalie. "Busoni’s Indian Fantasy" in Southern Workman vol. 44, October 1915, pp/ 538-543
• Ewen, David. Encyclopedia of Concert Music. New York; Hill and Wang, 1959.