Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (August 14, 1892 - October 15, 1988) was a pianist, music journalist and composer of Spanish-Sicilian and Parsi descent, who was born in and lived in Britain (Epping, Essex).

Related Topics:
August 14 - 1892 - October 15 - 1988 - Pianist - Composer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was born Leon Dudley, but identified with his Parsi heritage (referring to the Parsi community and not the Zoroastrian religion), emphatically not with his British birth (explaining in a letter excerpted in the below Critical Celebration why he went by Sorabji, and how this related).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He received private lessions because his addiction to autonomy prevented him from entering a school.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As a critic he was loosely connected to the "New Age" Magazine group surrounding A. R. Orage. His critical publications were of concentrated bitterness, weight and sharpness, yet were wickedly funny and had a extreme mistrust of the English public taste. Among his best publications one can count essays about Busoni, Reger, Szymanowski and Bernard van Dieren. Studies about Tantric Hinduism led him to his essay Metaphysical motivation in music and to his Tantrik Symphony.

Related Topics:
A. R. Orage - Bernard van Dieren - Tantric Hinduism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His works were influenced by Alkan, Busoni (to whom his second piano sonata is dedicated), Godowsky, Reger and Delius. He was friends with Philip Heseltine (Peter Warlock) and became a music journalist in part because of their friendship.

Related Topics:
Alkan - Busoni - Piano sonata - Godowsky - Reger - Delius - Peter Warlock

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His work Opus Clavicembalisticum (1930) for solo piano takes about 4 hours to play, and consists of three sections each divided into several movements. It was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest piano piece ever written. However Sorabji's Symphonic Variations, which occupies 500 pages of manuscript, would take even longer - about 6 hours.

Related Topics:
Opus Clavicembalisticum - 1930 - Guinness Book of Records

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Characteristic is his use, inspired by Busoni, of baroque forms — chorale prelude, passacaglia, and fugue — with harmonies, melodies, and approaches that are not neoclassical as usually understood.

Related Topics:
Chorale prelude - Passacaglia - Fugue - Neoclassical

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many details of his life were for a long time hard to come by, as Sorabji was extraordinarily reticent about his life. He was notorious for almost always refusing requests for interviews or information, often with rude messages and warnings not to approach him again. He was equally notorious for refusing permission for his works to be publicly performed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many pianists have decided to tackle Sorabji's enormously difficult works. Such pianists include: Michael Habermann, Donna Amato, John Ogdon, Geoffrey Douglas Madge, Jonathan Powell and Marc-André Hamelin.

Related Topics:
Michael Habermann - Donna Amato - John Ogdon - Geoffrey Douglas Madge - Jonathan Powell - Marc-André Hamelin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~