Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (born August 14, 1892 in Chingford , Essex , † October 15, 1988 in Winfrith Newburgh ) was a British composer , pianist and music critic of Parish origin.

Works

Sorabji was a musical outsider throughout his life. Even after his death, the artistic value of his works remained controversial, but the originality of his artistic approach and his highly developed craftsmanship are increasingly recognized.

The works of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji are characterized by their great stylistic independence, and often gigantic temporal dimensions and extreme technical requirements. Much space is a piano music, which now from well-known artists such as John Ogdon , Marc-André Hamelin , Geoffrey Douglas Madge , Yonty Solomon , Donna Amato , Michael Habermann , Fredrik Ullén , Soheil Nasseri , or in recent times also by Jonathan Powell was performed . His best-known work today is Opus clavicembalisticum , written in 1929/30 and lasting around four and a half hours .

The following works are listed on Grove Music Online:

Instrumental works

• Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 3, 1915–16
• Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 10, 1916–17 (only available as an excerpt for two pianos)
• Piano Concerto [No. 3], for piano and chamber orchestra, 1918
• Piano Concerto [No. 4], 1918
• Piano Concerto [No. 5] (published as No. 2), 1920
• Piano Concerto [No. 6] (originally No. 3), 1922
• Piano Concerto [No. 7] “Simorg-Anka” for piano and chamber orchestra 1924
• Piano Concerto No. 8 (originally No. 5), 1927–28
• Piano Concerto [No. 9] “Opus clavisymphonicum”, 1957–59
• Symphony Variations for piano and orchestra, 1935–36 (only part 1)
• Opusculum clavisymphonicum vel claviorchestrale for piano and chamber orchestra, 1973–75
• Chaleur, op. 5, around 1916-17
• Opusculum, 1923
• Piano Quintet No. 1, 1919–20
• Piano Quintet No. 2, 1932–33
• Concerto non grosso for piano, 4 violins, viola and 2 violoncellos, 1968
• Il tessuto d'arabeschi for flute and string quartet, 1979
• Fantasiettina atematica for flute, oboe and clarinet, 1981

Vocal works

Vocal works with orchestral accompaniment

• Symphony [No. 1] for choir and orchestra, 1921–22
• Black Mass for choir and orchestra, 1922 (lost, probably unfinished)
• Symphony [No. 3] Jāmī for baritone, choir and orchestra, 1942–51
• High Mass Symphony for choir and orchestra, 1955–61
• Medea (musical drama), 1916 (lost, presumably unfinished)
• Music for The Rider by Night (R. Nichols) for vocal ensemble and chamber orchestra, 1919 (partially lost)
• 5 sonnets (Michelangelo) for baritone and chamber orchestra, 1923

Vocal works with piano accompaniment

• The Poplars, Op. 2 No. 1 (J. Dučić), 1915
• Chrysilla, op. 1 no.1 (H. de Régnier), 1915
• Roses du soir, op. 1 No. 2 (P. Louÿs), 1915
• L'heure exquise, Op. 2 No. 2 (P. Verlaine), 1916
• Vocalise pour soprano fioriturata, Op. 2 No. 3, 1916
• Vocalise [No. 2], 1916 (lost)
• Apparition, op.4 No. 3 (S. Mallarmé), 1916
• Hymne à Aphrodite, op.4 No. 2 (L. Tailhade), 1916
• L'étang, op.9 (M. Rollinat), 1917
• I was not sorrowful (E. Dowson), around 1917-18
• Le mauvais jardinier (I. Gilkin), around 1918
• 3 poèmes (CP Baudelaire, Verlaine), 1918-19
• 3 fêtes galantes (Verlaine), around 1919
• Arabesque (Mīrzā), 1920
• 3 poèmes (Sa'dī), 1926
• L'irrémédiable (Baudelaire), 1927
• Movement (Vocalise), 1927 and 1931
• [3 poèmes ] (Verlaine, Baudelaire), 1941
• Frammento cantato (H. Morlund), 1967
• Benedizione (St Francis of Assisi) for voices and organ 1973

Piano works

• In a Summer Garden (Delius transcription, lost), 1914
• The Reiterated Chord , 1916
• Sonata, op.7, 1917
• Quasi habanera , op.8 , 1917
• Désir éperdu , 1917
• Sonata [No. 1], 1919
• 2 piano pieces, 1918 and 1920
• Fantaisie espagnole , 1919
• Sonata seconda, 1920
• Sonata III, 1922
• Preludium, Interludium and Fugue, 1920 and 1922
• 3 pastiches, 1922
• Le jardin parfumé, 1923
• Valse-fantaisie, 1925
• Variazioni e fuga triplice sopra "Dies irae", 1923–26
• Fragment Written for Harold Rutland , 1926 (revised 1928, 1937)
• Toccata [No. 1], 1928
• Jāmī, 1928
• Sonata IV, 1928-29
• Toccatinetta sopra CGF, 1929
• Passacaglia, 1929 (unfinished)
• Opus clavicembalisticum, 1929-30
• Symphony II, 1930–31 (only piano part, composed for piano, organ, voices and orchestra)
• Fantasia ispanica, 1933
• Pasticcio capriccioso [after Chopin: op. 64 No. 1], 1933
• Toccata seconda, 1933-34
• Sonata V "Opus archimagicum", 1934–35
• Symphony Variations, 1935–37 (only piano part, composed for piano and orchestra)
• Toccata terza ,? 1937–38 (lost)
• Tāntrik Symphony, 1938–39
• Transcription in the Light of Harpsichord Technique (Transcription of the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach), 1940
• Quaere reliqua hujus materiei inter secretiora, 1940
• Quaere reliqua hujus materiei inter secretiora, 1940
• Gulistān, 1940
• St. Bertrand de Comminges: "He was laughing in the tower", 1941
• [100] Etudes transcendantes, 1940-44
• Rapsodie espagnole (transcription after Ravel), 1945
• Prelude in E flat major (transcription based on Johann Sebastian Bach: BWV 815a), 1945
• Concerto da suonare da me solo e senza orchestra, per divertirsi, 1946
• Final scene from Salome (transcription after Richard Strauss), 1947
• Sequentia cyclica super "Dies irae", 1948–49
• Le agonie, 1951 (unfinished, lost)
• Un nido di scatole, 1954
• Symphony No. 2, 1954
• Passeggiata Veneziana, 1955-56
• Rosario d'arabeschi, 1956
• Symphony No. 3, 1959-60
• Fantasiettina sul nome illustrious dell'egregio poeta Christopher Grieve ossia Hugh M'Diarmid, 1961
• Symphony No. 4, 1962-64
• [104] Frammenti aforistici (Sutras), 1962-64
• [20] Frammenti aforistici, 1964
• Toccata quarta, 1964-67
• Symphonia brevis [Symphony No. 5], 1973
• Variazione maliziosa e perversa (after Grieg La morte d'Åse ), 1974
• Symphony No. 6 Symphonia claviensis , 1975–76
• [4] Frammenti aforistici, [1977]
• Symphony nocturne, 1977-78
• Variazioni frivole con una fuga anarchica, eretica e perversa (after Rimski-Korsakow), 1978–79
• Villa Tasca: mezzogiorno siciliano (Evocazione nostalgica), 1979-80
• Opus secretum, 1980-81
• Passeggiata variata, 1981
• Passeggiata arlecchinesca sopra un frammento di Busoni (Rondò arlecchinesco), 1981-82
• [2] sutras sul nome dell'amico Alexis, 1981, 1984

Organ works

• Symphony No. 1, 1924
• Symphony No. 2, 1929-32
• Symphony No. 3, 1949-53

Fonts

• Around Music , London: Unicorn Press 1932.
• Mi contra fa: The immoralisings of a Machiavellian musician , London: Porcupine Press, 1947 - reprinted in New York: Da Capo Press, 1986.

Discography

• KSS66: 100 Transcendental Studies for Piano, Volume 5 Nos 72 to 83 , Fredrik Ullén, piano. Klassik Center Kassel, BIS-2223.

literature

• Paul Rapoport (Ed.): Sorabji - A Critical Celebration . Scolar Press, Aldershot 1992, ISBN 0-85967-923-3 (512 pages).
• Paul Rapoport: Opus est: 6 composers from northern Europe; Matthijs Vermeulen , Vagn Holmboe , Havergal Brian , Allan Pettersson , Fartein Valen , Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji . Kahn & Averill, London 1985, ISBN 0-900707-88-7 (200 pages).

Web links

• Sean Vaughn Owen: Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: An Oral Biography . PhD Thesis, University of Southampton, 2007. ISBN 978-0-549-29073-5
• Marc-André Roberge: Opus sorabjianum: The Life and Works of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji , 2013 (xliv, 561 pp.)
• Marc-André Roberge: Sorabji Resource Site . Lists and tables on various aspects of Sorabji's life and work
• The Sorabji Archive (English). Website of the Sorabji archive with a catalog of works, information on performances and performers and a discography
• Christoph Schlüren: British Composers - “Things in music we have never heard before” ( Memento from February 11, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ). An internet article about little known British composers

Individual evidence

1. ^ Paul Rapoport / Marc-André Roberge:  Sorabji, Kaikhosru Shapurji. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
2. ↑ Two hands are not enough in FAZ from August 1, 2016, page 12