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Home > Sorabji, Kaikhosru Shapurji

Sorabji, Kaikhosru Shapurji 1892 - 1988

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  • Author: Saitoh, Noriko

  • Last updated:December 1, 2008
  • Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

    Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji

    Born to a Parsi father from India and a Spanish-Sicilian mother, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji spent most of his life in England. He was largely self-taught, having received only basic musical education in counterpoint and harmony. Sorabji was remarkably indifferent to promoting his own works, even going so far as to forbid their performance. Some of his works remained in manuscript form without being published, and despite receiving praise from renowned musicians, they rarely gained widespread public exposure. For many years, Sorabji's works could only be known through private recordings, but in his later years, he permitted only Michael Habermann and Yonty Solomon to perform them. Furthermore, the University of Illinois undertook a project to perform and record Sorabji's difficult works using computers.

    Works

    His works were influenced by both Western and Eastern traditions. Starting from an impressionistic influence, he developed his own unique style and created large-scale works that could constitute an entire program. Examples include a work for clavicembalo lasting nearly three hours and the 1000-page Symphony "Jami". There are also piano works that use as few as three staves and as many as seven staves.

    As a Performer

    Sorabji possessed excellent pianistic skill and gave concerts in London, Paris, Vienna, Glasgow, and Bombay. However, Sorabji himself began to feel resistance towards public performance, gradually withdrawing from the concert stage.

    As a Critic

    He also contributed music criticism to Musical Times, New Age, and New English Weekly with a witty and even scathing pen. He is credited with introducing composers who were then less well-known, such as Szymanowski, Alkan, and Mahler.

    Author: Saitoh, Noriko
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    Works(76)

    Concerto (2)

    concerto (8)

    Piano Concerto No.1 KSS6

    Playing time: 35 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Concerto No.2 KSS14

    Composed in: 1917  Playing time: 25 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Concerto No.3 "Simorg-Anka" KSS16

    Composed in: 1918  Playing time: 25 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Concerto No.4 KSS18

    Composed in: 1918  Playing time: 25 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Concerto No.5 KSS27

    Composed in: 1920  Playing time: 29 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Concerto No. 7 "Sīmurgh-'Anqā KSS38

    Composed in: 1924  Playing time: 25 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Concerto No. 8 KSS45

    Playing time: 1 hr 40 min 00 sec 

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    Works with orchestral accompaniment (3)

    Simphonic Variations KSS78

    Playing time: 3 hr 20 min 00 sec 

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    Opus clavisymphonicum KSS80

    Playing time: 1 hr 40 min 00 sec 

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    Opusculum claviorchestrale KSS94

    Playing time: 2 hr 40 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Solo (13)

    sonata (6)

    Piano Sonata No.1 KSS20

    Composed in: 1919  Playing time: 20 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Sonata No.2 KSS28

    Composed in: 1920  Playing time: 51 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Sonata No.3 KSS29

    Composed in: 1922  Playing time: 1 hr 23 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Sonata No.4 KSS48

    Playing time: 2 hr 03 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Sonata (unnumbered) KSS9

    Composed in: 1917  Playing time: 23 min 00 sec 

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    rhapsody (2)

    Rapsodie Espagnole KSS33

    Composed in: 1923 

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    Rapsodie Espagnole KSS67

    Composed in: 1945  Playing time: 18 min 00 sec 

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    pieces (2)

    2 Pieces KSS17

    Composed in: 1918  Playing time: 9 min 30 sec 

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    Prelude, Interlude and Fugue KSS25

    Playing time: 15 min 00 sec 

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    etude (1)

    100 Transcendental Studies KSS66

    Playing time: 8 hr 15 min 00 sec 

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    toccata (5)

    Toccata No.1 KSS46

    Composed in: 1928  Playing time: 1 hr 15 min 00 sec 

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    Toccata No.2 KSS57

    Playing time: 2 hr 25 min 50 sec 

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    Toccata No.3 KSS76

    Composed in: 1955  Playing time: 1 hr 30 min 00 sec 

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    Toccata No.4 KSS87

    Playing time: 2 hr 30 min 00 sec 

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    Toccanietta sopra C. G. F. KSS49

    Composed in: 1929  Playing time: 8 min 00 sec 

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    prelude (1)

    Prelude KSS68

    Key: Es-Dur  Composed in: 1845  Playing time: 3 min 00 sec 

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    fantasy (4)

    Fantaisie espagnole KSS19

    Composed in: 1919  Playing time: 15 min 20 sec 

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    Valse fantaisie, hommage à Johann Strauss KSS40

    Composed in: 1925  Playing time: 15 min 30 sec 

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    Fantasia ispanica KSS55

    Composed in: 1933  Playing time: 52 min 00 sec 

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    variation (2)

    Symphonic Variations KSS59

    Playing time: 9 hr 00 min 00 sec 

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    Variazione Maliziosa e Perversa sopra La Morte d'Åse da Grieg KSS93

    Composed in: 1974  Playing time: 1 min 00 sec 

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    fuga (2)

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    passacaglia (1)

    Passacaglia KSS48a

    Composed in: 1929 

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    nocturne (1)

    Nocturne (Djami) KSS47

    Composed in: 1928  Playing time: 22 min 00 sec 

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    Reduction/Arrangement (3)

    3 Pastiches after Chopin, Bizet and Rimsky-Korsakov KSS31

    Composed in: 1922  Playing time: 12 min 30 sec 

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    Pasticcio cappriccioso after Chopin KSS56

    Composed in: 1933  Playing time: 4 min 00 sec 

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    Passeggiata veneziana after Offenbach KSS77

    Playing time: 20 min 00 sec 

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    Various works (33)

    Quasi habanera KSS12

    Composed in: 1917  Playing time: 3 min 00 sec 

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    Le jardin parfumé KSS35

    Composed in: 1923  Playing time: 19 min 00 sec 

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    Fragment for Harold Rutland

    Composed in: 1926  Playing time: 3 min 00 sec 

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    Opus Clavicembalisticum KSS50

    Playing time: 4 hr 45 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Symphonie No.1 "Tantric" KSS60

    Composed in: 1928  Playing time: 4 hr 30 min 00 sec 

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    Gulistan (The Rose Garden) KSS63

    Composed in: 1940  Playing time: 29 min 30 sec 

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    Quaere reliqua hujus materiei inter secretiora KSS62

    Composed in: 1940  Playing time: 17 min 00 sec 

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    St. Bertrand de Comminges (He was laughing in the tower)

    Composed in: 1941  Playing time: 20 min 30 sec 

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    Concerto per suonare da me solo KSS69

    Composed in: 1946  Playing time: 50 min 00 sec 

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    Sequentia cyclica on "Dies irae" KSS71

    Playing time: 8 hr 23 min 00 sec 

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    Rosario d'arabeschi KSS79

    Composed in: 1956  Playing time: 35 min 00 sec 

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    Un nido di scatole KSS74

    Composed in: 1954  Playing time: 28 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Symphonie No.2 KSS75

    Playing time: 4 hr 30 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Symphonie No.3 KSS81

    Playing time: 2 hr 15 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Symphonie No.5 (Symphonia brevis) KSS92

    Composed in: 1973  Playing time: 2 hr 20 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Symphonie No.6 (Symphonia claviensis) KSS95

    Playing time: 4 hr 45 min 00 sec 

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    Désir Eperdu KSS13

    Composed in: 1917  Playing time: 1 min 00 sec 

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    Fragment (Prelude and Fugue) KSS41a

    Composed in: 1926  Playing time: 2 min 00 sec 

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    Fragment KSS43

    Playing time: 3 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Symphony no. 0 KSS51

    Playing time: 5 hr 20 min 00 sec 

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    St Bertrand de Comminges KSS64

    Composed in: 1941  Playing time: 21 min 00 sec 

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    Schlußszene aus Salome von Richard Strauss KSS70

    Composed in: 1947  Playing time: 13 min 00 sec 

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    20 Frammenti Aforistici KSS86

    Playing time: 10 min 00 sec 

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    4 Frammenti Aforistici KSS96

    Composed in: 1977  Playing time: 1 min 00 sec 

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    Il grido del gallino d'oro KSS98

    Playing time: 1 hr 15 min 00 sec 

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    Villa Tasca KSS100

    Playing time: 52 min 00 sec 

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    Opus secretum KSS101

    Playing time: 55 min 00 sec 

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    Passeggiata variata KSS102

    Composed in: 1981  Playing time: 3 min 00 sec 

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    2 sutras sul nome dell'amico Alexis KSS104

    Playing time: 1 min 00 sec 

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    Passeggiata arlecchinesca KSS105

    Playing time: 12 min 00 sec 

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    Chamber Music (1)

    Chamber music (2)

    Piano Quintet No.1 KSS26

    Playing time: 29 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Quintet No.2 KSS54

    Playing time: 4 hr 00 min 00 sec 

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