Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji - Selected List of Works, Selected list of performed and recorded works

Composer, pianist, and polemical essayist, born in Chingford, Essex, SE England, UK, of Parsi and Spanish–Sicilian descent. Largely self-taught, his works are often epic, such as Opus clavicembalisticum (1930), a work of four hours duration in three parts. In addition to piano music, he wrote concertos, organ works, choral music and songs. His witty and outspoken critical writings were collected in Around Music (1932) and Mi contra fa (1947). During 1940–76 he prohibited publication or performance of his works, making them available only through his own recordings.

His works were influenced by Alkan, Busoni (to whom his second piano sonata is dedicated), Godowsky, Reger, Szymanowski, Scriabin and Delius.

His work Opus Clavicembalisticum (1930) for solo piano takes between about 3¾ and 4¾ hours to play, and consists of three sections, each divided into several movements, and each larger than the last. However his own Symphonic Variations, in three volumes, could take even longer—about 8 hours (a similar duration to Frederic Rzewski's work The Road), and occupies 484 A3 pages of manuscript. Several other works by Sorabji may last longer than Opus Clavicembalisticum. While the Symphonic Variations is his longest piano work, his fifth piano sonata: Opus Archimagicum, as well as Sequentia Cyclica Super Dies Irae ex Missa Pro Defunctis, and the complete set of 100 Transcendental Studies, all have substantially longer durations than Opus Clavicembalisticum. He was equally notorious for refusing permission for his works to be publicly performed.

The select group of musicians who have tackled Sorabji's often enormously difficult works includes: Michael Habermann, Donna Amato, John Ogdon, Geoffrey Douglas Madge, Jonathan Powell, Yonti Solomon, Reinier Van Houdt, Tellef Johnson, Fredrik Ullén, Kevin Bowyer, Carlo Grante and Marc-André Hamelin.

Selected List of Works

This is adapted from Sorabji: A Critical Celebration below, with permission, together with information from the brochure of the Sorabji Archive.

Works for orchestra

Poem, Chaleur, a short piece for orchestra (1917) Symphony no.1 for piano, organ, chorus and large orchestra (1921–22) Opusculum, a fairly short piece for orchestra (1923) Symphony no.3 "Jāmī" for baritone solo, wordless chorus, and large orchestra (including piano and organ) (1942–51) (The second symphony, 1930–31, was intended for piano, large orchestra, organ, a final chorus and six solo voices; only the piano part was completed, though this is, in number of pages, itself longer than the Opus Clavicembalisticum and seems to be a self-sufficient work.) Messa alta sinfonica (Symphonic High Mass) (8 soloists, 2 choirs and orchestra.) (1955–61)

Works for piano with orchestra

Eight Piano Concertos (no. "Concerto V" written 1927–28 seems to have been the eighth in order of composition.) Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra (orchestrated in 1953–56 from the first book of the three-book piano work written in 1935–37) Opus clavisymphonicum — Concerto for Piano and Large Orchestra (1957–59) Opusculum clavisymphonicum vel claviorchestrale (Little Work for Keyboard and Orchestra) (1973–75)

Works for Voice and Orchestra

Music to "The Rider by the Night" (text, Robert Nichols), only exists in full score Cinque Sonetti di Michelangelo Buonarroti (baritone and chamber orchestra)

Works for Bells

Suggested Bell-Chorale for St. Luke’s Carillon (St. Luke's Church, Germantown, Philadelphia)

Songs

The Poplars (Ducic, translated Selver) (2 versions) Chrysilla (de Régnier) Roses du Soir (Louÿs) l’Heure Exquise (Verlaine) Vocalise (2 versions) Apparition (Mallarmé) Hymne à Aphrodité (Tailhade) (2 versions) l’Étang (Rollinat) I was not Sorrowful (Dowson) Le Mauvais Jardinier (Gilkin) (incomplete) Trois Poèmes (Baudelaire and Verlaine) Arabesque (Shamsu’d-Dīn) Trois Fêtes Galantes (Verlaine) Trois Poèmes du “Gulistān” de Sa‘dī (translated Toussaint) (2 versions) l’Irrémédiable (Baudelaire) Vocalise “Movement” Three Songs (Baudelaire and Verlaine) Frammento Cantato

Chamber works

Primary among these are the two piano quintets, written 1919–20 and 1932–33 (a lengthy work at 432 pages, challenging Morton Feldman's String Quartet II for longest chamber work status). New typeset editions of all of the chamber works are available from the Sorabji Archive. Concertino non grosso (4 violins, viola, and cello) Il Tessuto d’Arabeschi (flute and string quartet) Fantasiettina Atematica (oboe, flute, and clarinet)

Works for solo piano

Five sonatas (sonatas 1–5, 1919–1934-5. Also sonata '0', 1917, rediscovered posthumously) Six piano symphonies (Tantrik Symphony, 1938-9, Second Symphony, 1954, Third Symphony, 1959-60, Fourth Symphony, 1962-4, Symphonia brevis, 1973, Symphonia claviensis, 1975-6) Four numbered toccatas (Toccata, 1928; This is arguably Sorabji's longest work, approx. 7-9 hours) 100 Études transcendantes (1940-4) (in 4 volumes) (These range from short virtuso studies to expansive concert works, such as no.75 'Passacaglia') Concerto da suonare da me solo e senza orchestra, per divertirsi (1946) Sequentia cyclica super "Dies iræ" ex Missa pro defunctis (1948-9) Quasi Habanera (1917) (Not to be confused with the Quasi-Habanera movement of the Fantasia Ispanica) Désir éperdu (1917) Two Pieces (In the hothouse, and Toccata) Fantaisie Espagnole Prelude, Interlude, and Fugue Trois Pastiches (Pastiches of Chopin, Bizet, and Rimsky-Korsakoff) Rapsodie Espagnole (Transcription of the Ravel orchestral work) Le Jardin Parfumé (1923) Valse-Fantaisie (Hommage à Johann Strauss) (1925) Variations and Fugue on “Dies Iræ” (1923-26) Fragment (Prelude and Fugue) (1926) Fragment for Harold Rutland (1926/28/37) Toccata No. 1 (1928) Djami (1928) Passacaglia (unfinished) (1929) Introduction, Passacaglia, Cadenza, and Fugue (completion by Abercrombie of unfinished 1929 Passacaglia) Toccatinetta (1929) Symphony (unnumbered solo piano work intended for piano, orchestra, chorus, and soli) (1930-1931) Fantasia Ispanica (1933) Pasticcio Capriccioso (Chopin Pastiche) (1933) Toccata No. 4 104 Frammenti Aforistici (Sutras) Variazione Maliziosa e Perversa sopra “la Morte d’Åse” da Grieg 4 Frammenti Aforistici Symphonic Nocturne (A large work for solo piano still in manuscript form) Il Grido del Gallino d’Oro (variations and fugue on a theme from “Le Coq d’Or” [Rimsky-Korsakov]) Villa Tasca Opus Secretum Passeggiata Variata 2 Sutras sul Nome dell’amico Alexis Passeggiata Arlecchinesca (based on material from “Rondò Arlecchinesco” [Busoni]) Trascription in the Light of Harpsichord Technique for the Modern Piano of the Chromatic Fantasia of J.S. Bach Followed by a Fugue, as well as a number of other transcriptions

Works for organ

Three organ symphonies (1924, 1929-32, 1949-53)

Voice and Organ

Benedizione di San Francesco d’Assisi (baritone)

Selected list of performed and recorded works

List of works listed above that are known to have received public or broadcast performances, and/or recordings.

There is information on performances up to its date of publication in the book A Critical Celebration, in the chapter Un tessuto d'esecuzioni (named in parallel with the composer's chamber piece Il tessuto d'arabeschi (1979, for flute and string quartet and dedicated "To the Memory of Delius.") Information on premieres, again up to that date and so far as known can also be found in the entries on individual works in The "Detailed Catalog" section of the chapter called "Could you just send me a list of his works?"

Orchestral works Two performances of Chaleur have taken place in Frankfurt, in 1999 and 2000. Works for piano with orchestra Piano concerto no. Premiered in Utrecht in March 2003, and broadcast by Radio Hilversum, Netherlands in May 2003 with Donna Amato, soloist) Works for chamber ensemble Piano quintet no. This concert also contained the "modern premiere" of the second piano sonata, that is, its first performance since the composer had performed it in the 1920s.) Il tessuto d'arabeschi — performed May 1982 in Philadelphia. Works for organ solo Organ symphony no. Entire work premiered by Kevin Bowyer and Thomas Trotter in 1987. The entire work was scheduled to receive its first complete performances (over 6 hours!) in Glasgow and Darmstadt in October 2006, however Kevin Bowyer has since postponed this performance by a year due to illness. Works for piano solo Sonatas Sonata 1 premiered by Sorabji in 1920, recorded by Marc-André Hamelin for the label Altarus in 1990 Sonata 2 premiered by Sorabji in 1922, recorded by Tellef Johnson for the label Altarus in 1999 Sonata 3 premiered by Yonty Solomon in 1977; a recording by Tellef Johnson is scheduled for release from the label Altarus in 2006 Sonata 4 premiered by Sorabji in 1930, recorded by Jonathan Powell for Altarus in 2004 Symphonies Fourth Symphony premiered by Reinier van Houdt at Utrecht in March 2003 and performed several times, in Canada in 2003 Symphonia Brevis premiered in New York City, 2004 by Donna Amato Toccatas Of the numbered toccatas, Toccata (1928) is recorded (also by Jonathan Powell, for Altarus in 2003). Madge has also performed the work in Montréal, Bonn, Paris, and Berlin. Other piano works Michael Habermann recorded many short works in the 1980s for the MusicMasters label, as well as a CD for Elan and a CD of transcriptions for BIS. Donna Amato has also recorded several shorter works, all released on the Altarus label. Altarus have also released other shorter works, with recordings by Yonty Solomon, Carlo Grante, Charles Hopkins, and Jonathan Powell, who has a number of other recordings scheduled for release. This book, the first to be devoted to the composer's life and music, clarifies some once‐obscure biographical details, contains a more complete list of works than was previously available, and also includes several interviews and analyses.