Teaching new classicality

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Ferruccio Busoni's master class in composition in Berlin from 1921 to 1924 has long been a neglected aspect of Busoni research. This study fills that lacuna by reconstructing the master class and Busoni's teachings of New Classicality on the basis of extensive archival research. Unpublished correspondence, writings, musical manuscripts, governmental records, and diaries, as well as the stories told by surviving students served as primary sources in establishing the cultural, political, and economic context of the master class, examining its educational content, and evaluating Busoni's relationships with and possible influence on students such as Kurt Weill and Wladimir Vogel. The resulting story offers new light on a vital aspect of cultural life in Berlin during the early Weimar Republic.