Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
Encyclopedia
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (14 August 1892 – 15 October 1988) (born Leon Dudley Sorabji) was an English composer
, music critic
, pianist
, and writer
.
, Essex
(now Greater London
). His father was a civil engineer of Parsi parentage from Bombay
. His mother, Madeline, according to the census for the night of 2 April 1911, contrary to other reports, was born a "British subject by parentage" in Devonshire and was 37 years old on that day, living at 4 Hill Road, London NW8 9QG, a house of eight rooms in the St. Johns Wood district of London. On the night of the census, the head of the household (Sorabji's father) was absent and possibly abroad, since he does not appear in the complete census. Madeline declares herself a person of private means. A maid, Emily Mildred King, aged 22 is also included in the household. Sorabji is said to be 17 years old and a student.
Sorabji never visited India during his youth. He later changed his name to demonstrate his strong identification with his Parsi heritage. He explained why he did this. Sorabji: A Critical Celebration, edited by Paul Rapoport
includes his response to the suggestions that his name was not his real one:
As a critic, Sorabji was loosely connected to the New Age
Magazine group surrounding A. R. Orage
. He was friends with Philip Heseltine, who wrote music under the pseudonym
Peter Warlock
, and became a music critic in part because of their friendship. He was also a friend of the composer Alistair Hinton, who is now the founder of the Sorabji Archive. His critical publications were of concentrated bitterness, weight, and sharpness, yet they were wickedly funny and displayed an extreme mistrust of the English public taste. Among his best publications are essays about Busoni
, Reger
, Szymanowski
, and Bernard van Dieren
. Studies about Tantric
Hinduism
led him to his essay Metapsychic Motivation in Music and to his Tāntrik Symphony for Piano.
Between 1936–76, Sorabji banned unauthorised performances of his music.
village of Corfe Castle. He refused permission for his works to be publicly performed. Since he had independent financial means, he felt no need to be tactful in his dealings with the public, critics, and musicians interested in performing his works. His home, which he named "The Eye", had a sign at the gate: "Visitors Unwelcome."
, Busoni
, Godowsky
, Reger
, Szymanowski
, and Delius
.
Several of his works are of extraordinary difficulty, making them inaccessible to most musicians. In a letter to his good friend Peter Warlock
, Sorabji writes, "Again: 'if you make your work of such monstrous difficulty, no one can play it but the finest pianists.' What if it is only for the 'very finest pianists'? What if it is for no one at all but its creator?" His piano work Opus clavicembalisticum
takes about 4 hours to play and consists of three sections, each divided into several movements, and each larger than the last. It was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest piano piece
ever written. This claim is not accurate, as Sorabji himself wrote works of greater length. His Fifth Piano Sonata (Opus archimagicum), Sequentia cyclica super "Dies irae" ex Missa pro defunctis in clavicembali usum, and the Études transcendantes (100)—all have substantially longer durations than Opus clavicembalisticum. His piece Symphonic Variations for Piano occupies 484 A3-pages of manuscript in three volumes and could take nine hours to play. The Second Symphony for Organ lasts about eight hours and its second movement is as long as the complete Opus clavicembalisticum.
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. Much of his work is very melodic with combinations of lush, piquant and dissonant harmonies.
Sorabji's often extremely difficult pieces have been tackled by various musicians, the most prominent being Donna Amato
, Kevin Bowyer
, Elizabeth Farnum, Carlo Grante, Michael Habermann
, Marc-André Hamelin
, Reinier van Houdt, Tellef Johnson, Geoffrey Douglas Madge
, Soheil Nasseri
, John Ogdon
, Jonathan Powell
, Yonty Solomon
, Ronald Stevenson
, Fredrik Ullén
, and Daan Vandewalle.
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?" The most comprehensive up to date list of performances and broadcasts be can found here, while a complete discography can be found here.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, music critic
Music criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Biography
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji was born Leon Dudley Sorabji in ChingfordChingford
Chingford is a district of north east London, bordering on Enfield and Edmonton to the west, Woodford to the east, Walthamstow and Stratford to the south and Essex to the north. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross and forms part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
(now Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
). His father was a civil engineer of Parsi parentage from Bombay
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. His mother, Madeline, according to the census for the night of 2 April 1911, contrary to other reports, was born a "British subject by parentage" in Devonshire and was 37 years old on that day, living at 4 Hill Road, London NW8 9QG, a house of eight rooms in the St. Johns Wood district of London. On the night of the census, the head of the household (Sorabji's father) was absent and possibly abroad, since he does not appear in the complete census. Madeline declares herself a person of private means. A maid, Emily Mildred King, aged 22 is also included in the household. Sorabji is said to be 17 years old and a student.
Sorabji never visited India during his youth. He later changed his name to demonstrate his strong identification with his Parsi heritage. He explained why he did this. Sorabji: A Critical Celebration, edited by Paul Rapoport
Paul Rapoport (music critic)
Paul Rapoport is a musicologist, music critic, and composer a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario....
includes his response to the suggestions that his name was not his real one:
- "It is also stated that my name, my real name, that is the one I am known by, is not my real name. Now one is given one's name - one's authentic ones - at some such ceremony as baptism, Christening, or the like, on the occasion of one's formal reception into a certain religious Faith. In the ancient Zarathustrian Parsi community to which, on my father's side, I have the honour to belong, this ceremony is normally performed, as in other Faiths, in childhood, or owing to special circumstances as in my case, later in life, when I assumed my name as it now is or, in the words of the legal document in which this is mentioned '… received into the Parsi community and in accordance with the custom and tradition thereof, is now and will be henceforth known as…' and here follows my name as now."
As a critic, Sorabji was loosely connected to the New Age
The New Age
The New Age was a British literary magazine, noted for its wide influence under the editorship of A. R. Orage from 1907 to 1922. It began life in 1894 as a publication of the Christian Socialist movement; but in 1907 as a radical weekly edited by Joseph Clayton, it was struggling...
Magazine group surrounding A. R. Orage
Alfred Richard Orage
Alfred Richard Orage was a British intellectual, now best known for editing the magazine The New Age. While working as a schoolteacher in Leeds, he pursued various interests, including Plato, the Independent Labour Party, and theosophy...
. He was friends with Philip Heseltine, who wrote music under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock was a pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine , an Anglo-Welsh composer and music critic. He used the pseudonym when composing, and is now better known by this name....
, and became a music critic in part because of their friendship. He was also a friend of the composer Alistair Hinton, who is now the founder of the Sorabji Archive. His critical publications were of concentrated bitterness, weight, and sharpness, yet they were wickedly funny and displayed an extreme mistrust of the English public taste. Among his best publications are essays about Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
, Reger
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
, Szymanowski
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
, and Bernard van Dieren
Bernard van Dieren
Bernard Hélène Joseph van Dieren was a Dutch composer, critic, author, and writer on music.Van Dieren was the last of five children of a Rotterdam wine merchant, Bernard Joseph van Dieren, and his second wife, Julie Françoise Adelle Labbé...
. Studies about Tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
led him to his essay Metapsychic Motivation in Music and to his Tāntrik Symphony for Piano.
Between 1936–76, Sorabji banned unauthorised performances of his music.
Private life
Many details of his life were for a long time hard to come by, as Sorabji was extraordinarily private. He almost always refused requests for interviews or information, often with rude messages and warnings not to approach him again. This has led to numerous misunderstandings, for instance, that he lived in a castle, probably because he lived in the DorsetDorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
village of Corfe Castle. He refused permission for his works to be publicly performed. Since he had independent financial means, he felt no need to be tactful in his dealings with the public, critics, and musicians interested in performing his works. His home, which he named "The Eye", had a sign at the gate: "Visitors Unwelcome."
Style
Sorabji's music was influenced mainly by AlkanCharles-Valentin Alkan
Charles-Valentin Alkan was a French composer and one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of his day. His attachment to his Jewish origins is displayed both in his life and his work. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of six, earning many awards, and as an adult became a famous virtuoso...
, Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
, Godowsky
Leopold Godowsky
Leopold Godowsky was a famed Polish American pianist, composer, and teacher. One of the most highly regarded performers of his time, he became known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion in piano playing, principles later propagated by Godowsky's...
, Reger
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
, Szymanowski
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
, and Delius
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
.
Several of his works are of extraordinary difficulty, making them inaccessible to most musicians. In a letter to his good friend Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock was a pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine , an Anglo-Welsh composer and music critic. He used the pseudonym when composing, and is now better known by this name....
, Sorabji writes, "Again: 'if you make your work of such monstrous difficulty, no one can play it but the finest pianists.' What if it is only for the 'very finest pianists'? What if it is for no one at all but its creator?" His piano work Opus clavicembalisticum
Opus Clavicembalisticum
Opus clavicembalisticum is a solo piano piece composed by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, completed on June 26, 1930.The piece is notable for its length and difficulty: at the time of its completion it was the longest piano piece in existence. Its duration is around four hours, depending on tempo...
takes about 4 hours to play and consists of three sections, each divided into several movements, and each larger than the last. It was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest piano piece
Longest non-repetitive piano piece
This page attempts to list the longest non-repetitive piano pieces along with approximate duration and the number of pages they cover.-Works that have been performed and/or recorded:* Jacob Mashak – Beatus Vir...
ever written. This claim is not accurate, as Sorabji himself wrote works of greater length. His Fifth Piano Sonata (Opus archimagicum), Sequentia cyclica super "Dies irae" ex Missa pro defunctis in clavicembali usum, and the Études transcendantes (100)—all have substantially longer durations than Opus clavicembalisticum. His piece Symphonic Variations for Piano occupies 484 A3-pages of manuscript in three volumes and could take nine hours to play. The Second Symphony for Organ lasts about eight hours and its second movement is as long as the complete Opus clavicembalisticum.
Characteristic is his use, inspired by Busoni, of baroque forms—chorale prelude
Chorale prelude
In music, a chorale prelude is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 examples of the form in his Orgelbüchlein.-Function:The liturgical...
, passacaglia
Passacaglia
The passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre....
, and fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
—with harmonies, melodies, and approaches that are not neoclassical
Neoclassicism (music)
Neoclassicism in music was a twentieth-century trend, particularly current in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers sought to return to aesthetic precepts associated with the broadly defined concept of "classicism", namely order, balance, clarity, economy, and emotional restraint...
as usually understood. Much of his work is very melodic with combinations of lush, piquant and dissonant harmonies.
Partial list of performed and recorded works
Many of Sorabji's major works have not been recorded at all, and some others have had recordings of selected movements only. The record label Altarus intends to eventually release a full discography of Sorabji's work.Sorabji's often extremely difficult pieces have been tackled by various musicians, the most prominent being Donna Amato
Donna Amato
Donna Amato is an American pianist. She teaches at University of Pittsburgh.-Life:Amato's early piano studies included renowned teacher and virtuoso, Ozan Marsh...
, Kevin Bowyer
Kevin Bowyer
Kevin John Bowyer is an English organist, known for his prolific recording and recital career and his interest in playing unusual, modern and extremely difficult compositions.-Biography:...
, Elizabeth Farnum, Carlo Grante, Michael Habermann
Michael Habermann
Michael Habermann is a pianist and professor at the Peabody Institute.His intense study of the music of English-Parsi composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji has resulted in four recordings. In 1979, Sorabji dedicated a 93-page piano work to him...
, Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ, is a French Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marc-André Hamelin began his piano studies at the age of five. His father, a pharmacist by trade who was also a pianist, introduced him to the works of Alkan, Godowsky, and Sorabji when he was...
, Reinier van Houdt, Tellef Johnson, Geoffrey Douglas Madge
Geoffrey Douglas Madge
Geoffrey Douglas Madge is an Australian classical pianist and composer.Madge performed long and arduous works, he has twice recorded Sorabji's Opus clavicembalisticum, one of the longest and most difficult works ever written for the piano...
, Soheil Nasseri
Soheil Nasseri
Soheil Nasseri is an Iranian-American recital pianist based in New York and Berlin. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and Berliner Philharmonie, among other venues. He has premiered over 2 dozen works by contemporary composers since 2001. Also notably, he...
, John Ogdon
John Ogdon
John Andrew Howard Ogdon was an English pianist and composer.-Biography:Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music between 1953 and 1957, where his fellow students under Richard Hall...
, Jonathan Powell
Jonathan Powell (musician)
Jonathan Powell is a British pianist and composer. He was a student of Denis Matthews and Sulamita Aronovsky. He made his performing debut at the age of 20 in the Purcell Room in London....
, Yonty Solomon
Yonty Solomon
Jonathan " "Sir" Yonty" Solomon was a South African pianist who was soloist throughout the world with many of the most important symphony orchestras....
, Ronald Stevenson
Ronald Stevenson
Ronald Stevenson is a British composer, pianist, and writer about music.-Biography:The son of a Scottish father and English mother, Stevenson studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music , studying composition with Richard Hall and piano with Iso Elinson, graduating with distinction...
, Fredrik Ullén
Fredrik Ullén
Fredrik Ullén is a Swedish pianist. He has made recordings for the BIS, BMG Classics, Caprice, Danacord, dbProductions, and Phono Suecia labels....
, and Daan Vandewalle.
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?" The most comprehensive up to date list of performances and broadcasts be can found here, while a complete discography can be found here.
- Orchestral works
- Two performances of Chaleur have taken place in Frankfurt, in 1999 and 2000.
- Works for piano with orchestra
- Piano Concerto No. 5 (published as Concerto II pour piano et orchestre in 1923 by F. and B. Goodwin Ltd. of London). Premiered in Utrecht in March 2003, and broadcast by Radio Hilversum, Netherlands in May 2003 with Donna Amato as the soloist.
- Works for chamber ensemble
- Piano Quintet No. 1 — it was premiered by Chris Berg (piano), Marshall Coid and Lilit Gampel (violins), David Cerutti (viola), and Christine Gummere (cello) in 1998.
- Il tessuto d'arabeschi — premiered in 1982 in Philadelphia.
- Fantasiettina atematica — premiered in 1995 in London.
- Works for organ solo
- Organ Symphony No. 1 — second movement performed in 1928 by E. Emlyn Davies. Entire work premiered by Kevin BowyerKevin BowyerKevin John Bowyer is an English organist, known for his prolific recording and recital career and his interest in playing unusual, modern and extremely difficult compositions.-Biography:...
(movements 1 & 3) and Thomas TrotterThomas TrotterThomas Trotter is a British concert organist. He is Birmingham City Organist and organist of St. Margaret's, Westminster and visiting Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music, London....
(movement 2) in 1987. Recorded by Kevin Bowyer on Continuum Records (1001/2, released in 1988). - Organ Symphony No. 2 — first movement performed in 1994 by Kevin Bowyer; entire work of nine hours premiered by Bowyer in Glasgow, June 6, 2010.
- Organ Symphony No. 1 — second movement performed in 1928 by E. Emlyn Davies. Entire work premiered by Kevin Bowyer
- Works for piano solo
- Sonatas
- Sonata 1 premiered by Sorabji in 1920, recorded by Marc-André HamelinMarc-André HamelinMarc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ, is a French Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marc-André Hamelin began his piano studies at the age of five. His father, a pharmacist by trade who was also a pianist, introduced him to the works of Alkan, Godowsky, and Sorabji when he was...
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 SolomonYonty SolomonJonathan " "Sir" Yonty" Solomon was a South African pianist who was soloist throughout the world with many of the most important symphony orchestras....
in 1977; a recording by Tellef Johnson is scheduled for release as part of his "Opus Archimagicum" project - Sonata 4 premiered by Sorabji in 1930, recorded by Jonathan Powell for Altarus in 2004
- Sonata 1 premiered by Sorabji in 1920, recorded by Marc-André Hamelin
- 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, who recorded the work for Altarus in 2011
- Toccatas
- Of the numbered toccatas, Toccata No. 1 (1928) is recorded (by Jonathan Powell, for Altarus in 2003). Toccata 2 was premiered by Sorabji in 1936.
- Opus clavicembalisticum
- Premiered by Sorabji in 1930. Given its second complete performance in 1982 by Geoffrey Douglas MadgeGeoffrey Douglas MadgeGeoffrey Douglas Madge is an Australian classical pianist and composer.Madge performed long and arduous works, he has twice recorded Sorabji's Opus clavicembalisticum, one of the longest and most difficult works ever written for the piano...
, who performed it several times. Two of these performances have made it to recording media; his first, from Utrecht, was recorded for Keytone Records, and has long since been deleted. A subsequent performance in Chicago has been released on a set of BIS CDs (a Swedish label). Madge has also performed the work in Montréal, Bonn, Paris, and Berlin. He has since made the decision not to perform the work. Altarus has also released a recording by John OgdonJohn OgdonJohn Andrew Howard Ogdon was an English pianist and composer.-Biography:Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music between 1953 and 1957, where his fellow students under Richard Hall...
. The piece has been performed six times by Madge, four times by Jonathan PowellJonathan Powell (musician)Jonathan Powell is a British pianist and composer. He was a student of Denis Matthews and Sulamita Aronovsky. He made his performing debut at the age of 20 in the Purcell Room in London....
, twice by John Ogdon and twice by Daan Vandewalle.
- Premiered by Sorabji in 1930. Given its second complete performance in 1982 by Geoffrey Douglas Madge
- Études transcendantes (100)
- Individual ones of these have found their way into concerts (e.g. at the Newport Festival and the Schloss vor Husum festival of unusual piano music) and onto recordings. BIS have announced that the complete set will be recorded by the pianist Fredrik UllénFredrik UllénFredrik Ullén is a Swedish pianist. He has made recordings for the BIS, BMG Classics, Caprice, Danacord, dbProductions, and Phono Suecia labels....
; to date, the first 62 have been released.
- Individual ones of these have found their way into concerts (e.g. at the Newport Festival and the Schloss vor Husum festival of unusual piano music) and onto recordings. BIS have announced that the complete set will be recorded by the pianist Fredrik Ullén
- 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. The earlier recordings have been re-released by the British Music Society.
- Donna Amato has also recorded several shorter works, all released on the Altarus label.
- Altarus have also released other shorter works.
- Sonatas
- Songs
- Sorabji's songs for soprano have been recorded by Elizabeth Farnum (soprano) and Margaret Kampmeier (piano) for Centaur.
Literature
- Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, Around Music, reprinted 1979 by Hyperion Press. ISBN 0-88355-764-9. Available from the Sorabji Archive.
- Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, Mi Contra Fa: The Immoralisings of a Machiavellian Musician, reprinted 1986 by Da Capo Press, ISBN 0-306-76275-7. Available from the Sorabji Archive.
- Paul Rapoport has edited a book, Sorabji: A Critical Celebration, Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1992, ISBN 0-85967-923-3. 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.
- Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: an Oral Biography by Owen, Sean V., Ph.D., University of Southampton (United Kingdom), 2007; AAT 3287855
External links
- The website of the Sorabji Archive contains up-to-date information on scores, performances, recordings and broadcasts of Sorabji's music.
- The Sorabji Forum is part of the Sorabji Archive website.
- The Sorabji Resource Site, by Marc-André Roberge (Faculty of Music, Laval University), is an extensive repository of lists, compilations, tables, analytical charts, and links about many aspects of Sorabji's life and work.
- Former Sorabji website including biography, discography, photos, and writings.