Biographical Notes

A

Abercrombie, Alexander [Alexander Abercrombie] (b. 1949; d. Wales, 26 April 2023). Scottish/Welsh freelance pianist active in the theatre as a composer, arranger, rehearsal, and singing coach. Studied the piano with Louis Kentner and Yvonne Loriod. Has performed works by Skalkottas, Xenakis, Finnissy (who wrote Snowdrift [1972] for his Wigmore Hall debut in 1972), and Ferneyhough. Author of several editions of some of Sorabji’s largest works, such as the Quintet II for Piano and String Quartet (1932-33; 432 pp.), the Sonata V (Opus archimagicum) (1934-35; 336 pp.), the Sequentia cyclica super “Dies irae” ex Missa pro defunctis (1948-49; 335 pp.), and most of the Études transcendantes (100) (1940-44; 456 pp.), of which he gave the first performances of nos. 52 and 70. Received a Ph.D. in mathematics from Liverpool University in 1996 and published scholarly articles in the field. See the obituary by Alistair Hinton on the website of the Sorabji Archive, dated January 2024.

Abrahams, Simon John [Simon John Abrahams]. English musicologist. Author of a dissertation submitted at the University of London’s King’s College, entitled “Le mauvais jardinier: A Reassessment of the Myths and Music of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji” (2002).

Acuña, Jason [Jason Acuña]. American musician (not the American television host and actor of the same name). Co-edited (with Frazer Jarvis) the Rapsodie espagnole de Maurice Ravel—​Transcription de concert pour piano (second version, 1945; 26 pp.).

Adaskin, Harry [Harry Adaskin] (b. Riga, 6 October 1901; d. Vancouver, 7 April 1994). Canadian violinist and member of the Hart House String Quartet, which was supposed to give the first performance of the Quintet no. 1 for Piano and Quartet of Stringed Instruments (1919-20; 72 pp.) in New York on 29 November 1925.

Aitken, Robert [Robert Aitken]. Canadian flautist and composer. Conducted the first performance of the Cinque sonetti di Michelagniolo Buonarroti (1923; 40 pp.) in Toronto in 1980.

Alkan, Charles-Valentin [Charles-Valentin Alkan] (b. Paris, 30 November 1813; d. Paris, 29 March 1888). French composer and pianist. Author of the massive Twelve Etudes in the Minor Keys for Piano, op. 39. Sorabji included an essay on him in Around Music and was one of the vice-presidents of the Alkan Society from its inception in 1977.

Amato, Donna [Donna Amato]. American pianist. Studied with Busoni’s pupil Guido Agosti in Siena, where she obtained the discretionary Diploma d’onore. Gave several first performances of works by Sorabji and made three recordings for the Altarus label. Prepared editions of the Toccatinetta sopra C.G.F. (1929; 8 pp.) and of the Passeggiata arlecchinesca sopra un frammento di Busoni (“Rondò arlecchinesco”) (1981-82; 16 pp.) as well as (with Chris Rice) corrected copies of the Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.) and the Valse-fantaisie for Piano (1925; 16 pp.).

Anderson, Martin [Martin Anderson]. British music writer and critic, owner of Toccata Press, publisher of a collective book on Ronald Stevenson. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Applebaum, Mark [Mark Applebaum] American composer; assistant professor of composition and Theory and John Philip Coghlan Fellow at Stanford University. Author of an Aphoristic Fragment referring to Sorabji’s pieces of the same name.

Aprahamian, Felix [Felix Aprahamian] (b. London, 5 June 1914; d. London, 15 January 2005). English music critic and writer. Was present at John Tobin’s performance of Pars prima from Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) at Cowdray Hall on 10 March 1936. Participated in the London Television Weekend “Aquarius” programme featuring Sorabji.

Ashworth, Edward Clarke [Edward Clarke Ashworth] (b. Richmond, Surrey, 20 May 1903; d. Barnes Hospital, London, 10 January 1979). English music copyist and amateur watercolour artist. Son of the architect (?) William Clarke Ashworth, A.R.I.B.A. and Grace Maud Ashworth (née Cullen). Worked for a time as a telegraphic operator with the Standard Cable and Wireless Company. A supporter of the Social Credit system, he reviewed John Tobin’s performance of pars prima of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) for the New English Weekly in 1936. Dedicatee of the Symphonic Variations for Piano (1935-37; 484 pp.).

B

Benson, Marjorie Ann Maulsby [Marjorie Ann Maulsby Benson] (b. St. Paul, Minnesota, 1923; d. August 2013). American pianist who studied at the American Conservatory of Music (Chicago) and made her debut at Kimball Hall in 1942. Later returned to the American Conservatory and obtained her D.M.A. with a dissertation comparing Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) and Busoni’s Fantasia contrappuntistica (1987).

Berg, Christopher [Christopher Berg]. American pianist active in New York. Played the piano part in the first performances of the Quintet no. 1 for Piano and Quartet of Stringed Instruments (1919-20; 72 pp.) in New York in December 1998 and of the Trois poèmes du “Gulistān” de Saʿdī (1926, rev. 1930; 16 pp.) in Santa Fe in April 1999.

Best, Reginald Norman [Reginald Norman Best] (b. Cardiff, Wales, 25 September 1909; d. Winfrith Newburgh, Dorset, 29 February 1988). Described by Sorabji as a school friend, and later his companion at The Eye, the house they shared in Corfe Castle. Dedicatee of Nocturne, “Jāmī” (1928; 28 pp.), of the Transcription of the Prelude in E-flat by Bach (1945; 4 pp.), and of the Messa grande sinfonica (1955-61; 1,001 pp.).

Bhimani, Nazlin (Jiwani) [Nazlin Bhimani]. British-Canadian librarian who obtained a master’s degree in musicology at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver) with a thesis entitled “Kaikhosru Sorabji’s Critical Writings on British Music in The New Age (1924-1934)” (1985). Currently Research Support & Special Collections Librarian at the Institute of Education, University of London.

Blackstone, Milton [Milton Blackstone] (b. New York, 1894; d. Toronto, 1974). American violist, member of the Hart House String Quartet, which was supposed to give the first performance of the Quintet no. 1 for Piano and Quartet of Stringed Instruments (1919-20; 72 pp.) in New York on 29 November 1925.

Blom, Eric [Eric Blom] (b. Berne, 20 August 1888; d. London, 11 April 1959). English critic and editor of Danish origin who knew Sorabji from at least 1915. Received a copy of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [no. 5] (1920; 144 pp.) from the composer in 1924: “To Eric Blom with the perpetrator’s best wishes (12.8.24)”. Reviewed Mi contra fa for the Birmingham Post.

Bold, Alan (Norman) [Alan Bold] (b. Edinburgh, 20 April 1943; d. Kirkcaldy 19 March 1998). Scottish poet; biographer and editor of the letters of Hugh MacDiarmid. Author of a poem in homage to Ronald Stevenson that contains references to Sorabji.

Bowen, York [York Bowen] (b. London, 22 February 1884; d. London, 23 November 1961). English composer and pianist. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicated his Twenty-Four Preludes for Piano (1950) to Sorabji, who had written an essay about him in Mi contra fa. Dedicatee of the Passeggiata veneziana sopra la Barcarola di Offenbach (1955-56; 24 pp.).

Bowyer, Kevin John [Kevin Bowyer]. English organist whose has recorded all of Bach’s organ works for Nimbus. Performed. Recorded Sorabji’s Symphony [no. 1] for Organ (1924; 81 pp.), the published score of which he corrected. Completed a manuscript edition of the Second Symphony for Organ (1929-32; 350 pp.) in 1991, of which he gave the first complete performance in 2010. Commissioned and premiered Alistair Hinton’s Pansophiae for John Ogdon in memory of John Ogdon. Edited Sorabji’s three organ symphonies as part of his Ph.D. thesis at the University of Glasgow (compl. 2016). Wrote a self-published novel entitled The House on Boulby Cliff (2020). Recipient of an honorary award (classical music) for 2023 of the Preis der deutschen Schalllplattenkritik.

Branson, David [David Branson] (b. Kings Lynn, Norfolk, 13 July 1909; d. 1997). English pianist and composer. Studied composition with John Ireland. Published an article on Sorabji in The British Musician in 1929. Performed excerpts from Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.) and the first two sonatas as part of a lecture-recital in 1961. Author of John Field and Chopin (London: Barrie and Jenkins, 1972).

Brewer, George MacKenzie [George MacKenzie Brewer] (b. London, Ontario, 30 May 1889; d. Montréal, Québec, 18 May 1947). Canadian organist, pianist, teacher, composer, and lecturer. Was an examiner at the Dominion College of Music (Montréal) from 1907 to 1947 and taught at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal from 1944 to 1947. Met Sorabji in London on 10 July 1923, on which occasion the composer gave him inscribed copies of the published scores of the Trois poèmes pour chant et piano (1918, 1919; 9 pp.) and of the Quintet no. 1 for Piano and Quartet of Stringed Instruments (1919-20; 72 pp.).

Brian, Havergal [Havergal Brian] (b. Dresden, Staffordshire, 29 January 1876; d. Shoreham, Sussex, 28 November 1972). English composer celebrated for his massive Gothic Symphony. Reviewed the score of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) for Musical Opinion in 1932.

Brittain, Richard Henry (Rex) [Richard Henry Brittain] (b. Ripley, Derbyshire, 5 April 1876; d. Ripley, 5 May 1957). English freelance journalist. Dedicatee of Arabesque (1920; 2 pp.) and the Prelude, Interlude, and Fugue for Piano (1920, 1922; 17 pp.). Proprietor of Rex Brittain Advertising, Business-getting “Copy” and Ideas for Booklets, Folders, Leaflets, Press Ads, etc. (London). Author of The “Borough” Pocket Guide to Ripley (Derbyshire), specially compiled by R. H. Brittain, Containing: A Street Plan, A Map of the District, 20 Views, and Descriptive Letterpress. Being No. 325 of the “Borough” Guides (Cheltenham: Edmond J. Burrow, 1919).

Bromage, Bernard William [Bernard William Bromage] (b. Kidderminster, 27 April 1899; d. London, 12 September 1957). English writer and lecturer on mysticism and the occult who had obtained a master’s degree from the University of Birmingham in 1924 with a thesis on Henry James. Member of the Fraternity of the Inner Light, a secret order that was a breakaway group from the most significant British occult society, the Order of the Golden Dawn. Claimed to have been a piano pupil of Busoni in Berlin, on whose mysticism he published an article in 1938 in The Modern Mystic and Monthly Science Review. Acted as joint trustee of the Shapurji Sorabji trust between 1933 and 1941, after which all ties with Sorabji were severed. Dedicatee of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [no.] III [no. 6] (1922; 144 pp.; dedication removed at a later date), the Toccata [no. 1] for Piano (1928; 66 pp.; dedication transferred in 1964 to Frank Holliday), and the Sonata V (Opus archimagicum) (1934-35; 336 pp.; dedication transferred in 1943 to Clinton Gray-Fisk). Wrote for The New English Weekly a review of Around Music, the index to which he had prepared, much to the author’s dissatisfaction.

Browne, Edward Granville [Edward Granville Browne] (b. Uley, Gloucestershire, 7 February 1862; d. Cambridge, 5 January 1926). English orientalist and translator of Persian poetry. Professor at Cambridge University from 1902. Author of A Literary History of Persia (4 vols., 1902-24). Translated into English Jāmī ’s Yusuf and Zuleykhā, from which Sorabji quoted an excerpt in his Symphony [no. 2], “Jāmī”, for Large Orchestra, Wordless Chorus, and Baritone Solo (1942-51; 826 pp.).

Bruce, (Frank) Neely [Neely Bruce]. American pianist and composer. Performed the Pastiche on the “Minute Waltz” by Chopin (1922; 7 pp.) in Urbana, Illinois, as part of a Minute Waltz Transcriptions recital, in 1973. Professor of American music, composition, and theory at Wesleyan University (Middletown, Conn.).

Burton-Page, Anthony [Anthony Burton-Page] (b. London, 10 January 1954; d. Jerez, Spain, 21 November 2018). Musician and Latin teacher at a school near Corfe Castle, near Sorabji’s residence. Friend of the composer in his later years. Dedicatee of the Fantasiettina atematica (1981; 2 pp.), of which he prepared an edition. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Bush, Alan [Alan Bush] (b. London, 22 December 1900; d. Hertford, 31 October 1995). English composer, pianist and teacher. Pupil of John Ireland. Professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music from 1925 to 1978. Corresponded with Sorabji from 1940 onwards.

Busoni, Ferruccio [Ferruccio Busoni] (b. Empoli, 1 April 1866; d. Berlin, 27 July 1924). Italian composer and pianist active mainly in Germany. Exerted a considerable influence on Sorabji, for whom he wrote a letter of recommendation in November 1919 after the composer’s private performance of the Sonata no. 1 for Piano (1919; 42 pp.), which was dedicated to him. Also the dedicatee of the Sonata seconda for Piano (1920; 49 pp.) and the Variazioni e fuga triplice sopra “Dies irae” per pianoforte (1923-26; 201 pp.; posthumously).

Byngham, Henry (“Harry”) John (also known as Dion [for Dionysus], sometimes under the pseudonym “Dion Cassius”) [Dion Byngham] (b. 23 November 1896; d. April-June 1990). Successor (between 1922 and 1924) to Ernest Westlake as British head of the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry, whose official organ Pine Cone (first issue, July 1923) he edited. An early figure in British naturism, was involved in the creation of the English Gymnosophist Society (1922; New Gymnosophy Society from 1926) and counted among his acquaintances the occultist Aleister Crowley, the poet Victor Benjamin Neuburg, and the Wiccan Gerald Brousseau Gardner. Also Honorary Secretary of the London Healthy Life Society, an early British naturist society. Was secretary of the British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology, in which capacity he encouraged Sorabji to write his essay “Music and Sex” sometime after 1925. Author of Creative Simplicity, Pan Pamphlets, no. 3 (Leatherhead: Bureau of Cosmotherapy; London: C. W. Daniel, 1937), a booklet in the field of therapeutics. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works, then living in Langton Matravers (located between Corfe Castle and Swanage); later a resident of Swanage.

C

Carter, David [David Carter]. English tubist and composer (also known as DaveTu♭aking or Davetubaking). Edited the Symphony [no. 2], “Jāmī”, for Large Orchestra, Wordless Chorus, and Baritone Solo (1942-51; 826 pp.) and prepared sound files of various excerpts from other works.

Chapman, Ernest [Ernest Chapman] (b. 1914; d. 1979). Honorary secretary of the Macnaghten Concerts (founded in 1931 to perform works by young or little-known British composers), whose concerts were held at 4 St. James’s Square, London SW1. A few letters from Sorabji to him came into the British Library in 1984 (Add. MSS 62949).

Chisholm, Alastair [Alastair Chisholm]. Scottish organist (Cathedral of the Isles, Cumbrae) and teacher. Head of the Music Department at Largs Academy, Scotland. Author of a monograph on Bernard van Dieren. Met Sorabji in the early 1970s in connection with the Concerto [no. 1] pour piano et grand orchestre (1915-16; 177 pp.), then the property of Bernard van Dieren. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Chisholm, Erik [Erik Chisholm] (b. Cathcart, Glasgow, 4 January 1904; d. Rondebosch, South Africa, 8 June 1965). Scottish organist, composer (pupil of Donald Francis Tovey), pianist, teacher, and music administrator. Founder, in 1930, of the Active Society for the Propagation of Contemporary Music (Glasgow), at whose concerts Sorabji gave four recitals between 1930 and 1936. Wrote an essay on Sorabji published as part of an Oxford University Press brochure (ca. 1938) and illustrated talks; also prepared a two-piano arrangement of St. Bertrand de Comminges: “He was laughing in the tower” (1941; 16 pp.), dating from around 1956. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Became dean and director of the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town in 1946. Dedicatee of the revised version of the Trois poèmes du “Gulistān” de Saʿdī (1926, rev. 1930; 16 pp.), the Symphony no. 0 for Piano Solo (1930-31; 333 pp.), and the Tāntrik Symphony for Piano Alone (1938-39; 284 pp.). His second wife, Lillias Scott Forbes (1918-2014), was one of the four children of the composer Francis George Scott.

Cimirro, Artur [Artur Cimirro]. Brazilian pianist, composer, and transcriber. Author of an “Homage to Sorabji” written as part of a set of thirteen piano etudes.

Clark, Peter [Peter Clark]. American baritone. Gave with Christopher Berg the first performance of the Trois poèmes du “Gulistān” de Saʿdī (1926, rev. 1930; 16 pp.) in Sante Fe.

Coburn, Alvin Langdon [Alvin Langdon Coburn] (b. Boston, Mass.; 11 June 1882; d. Denbighshire, Wales, 23 November 1966). American photographer who became friends with Sorabji in 1918, probably through their shared interest in the pianola. Author of Men of Mark (London: Duckworth; New York: Mitchell Kennerly, 1913) and More Men of Mark (London: Duckworth, 1922). Took two photographs of Sorabji in 1918 for an unpublished volume entitled Musicians of Mark.

Collins, A. J. [Alfred James] [A. J. Collins] (b. Dublin, ca. 1873 [aged 38 in 1911]). English copyist identified on the flyleaf of the copy of the Sonata seconda for Piano (1920; 49 pp.) as “A. J. Collins, Music Copyist, 142, Sheepcote Lane, Battersea, S.W.” Hired by Sorabji to prepare copies of five works completed between 1917 and 1922. Also worked for Arnold Bax.

Colton, Glenn [Glenn Colton]. Canadian musicologist teaching at Lakehead University (Thunder Bay, Ontario). Author of an M.A. thesis at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario) on the art of piano transcription, which discusses Sorabji’s Pastiche on the Habanera from “Carmen” by Bizet (1922; 6 pp.).

Coomaraswamy, Ananda Kentish [Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy] (b. Colombo, Ceylon, 22 August 1877; d. Boston, 9 September 1947). Indo-American art historian. Sorabji wrote an article entitled “The Validity of the Aristocratic Principle” for a Festschrift in his honour.

Cooper, H. James [H. (Harold) James Cooper] (b. West Bromwich, near Birmingham, 29 September 1902; d. West Bromwich, 1957). English pianist. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Third husband of the soprano Joy McArden, with whom he probably gave a private performance of the Trois poèmes (1941; 13 pp.) for the composer.

Cortot, Alfred [Alfred Cortot] (b. Nyon, Switzerland, 26 September 1877; d. Lausanne, 15 June 1962). French pianist. Author of several books on the piano and editor of the works of Chopin. Met the composer in 1920. Dedicatee of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [no. 5] (1920; 144 pp.) and recipient of the manuscript of the piano part of the work.

Cotton, Martin [Martin Cotton]. Chief producer of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Produced programmes of Sorabji’s music. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Crabbe, Reginald [Reginald H. Y. Crabbe] (b. 18 June 1911). Wareham resident who was Sorabji’s taxi driver during his Corfe Castle years.

Crowley, Aleister [Aleister Crowley] (b. Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, 12 October 1875; d. Hastings, 1 December 1947). English occultist with whom Sorabji had a disappointing meeting in June 1922.

D

Darnton, Philip Christian [Philip Christian Darnton] (b. near Leeds, 30 October 1905; d. Hove, 14 April 1981). English composer who dedicated his Suite no. 2 for piano (1932) to Sorabji.

Datch, (Frederick) George Bethell [Frederick George Bethell Datch] (b. 1893; d. Kensington, 9? December 1976). English actor and friend of Sorabji, who called him “Devilface”. Worked for some time as a tenor and played the small part of the Host of Southwark, Harry Bailly, in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1972 film I racconti di Canterbury based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Was present at both John Tobin’s 1936 and Yonty Solomon’s 1976 recitals.

Davey, Frank G. [Frank G. Davey] (d. 1961 at the earliest). English friend of Sorabji, for whom he wrote the recently discovered Fragment: Prelude and Fugue on FxAxx DAxEx (1926; 3 pp.) as a wedding present. May have been a book reviewer for the London (Daily?) Chronicle. Sorabji was still in touch with him in 1961.

Davies, E[dward] Emlyn [E. Emlyn Davies] (b. Rhos Llanerchrugog, Wales, 24 January 1885; d. Ealing, London, 14 May 1951). Welsh organist. Organist at the Westminster Congregational Church from 1916 onwards. One of the first organists to play on the radio. Dedicatee of the Second Symphony for Organ (1929-32; 350 pp.). Gave the first performance of the second movement of the Symphony [no. 1] for Organ (1924; 81 pp.) in London in 1928. Sorabji published an obituary tribute to him in Musical Opinion.

de Kresz, Géza [Géza de Kresz] (b. Budapest, 11 June 1882; d. Toronto, 2 October 1959). Canadian violinist of Hungarian origin married to the pianist Norah Drewett. First violin of the Hart House String Quartet, which was supposed to give the first performance of the Quintet no. 1 for Piano and Quartet of Stringed Instruments (1919-20; 72 pp.) in New York on 29 November 1925.

De Solis, (Conte) Aldo Solito [Aldo Solito De Solis] (b. Castrovillari, 25 May 1905; d. Los Angeles, 7 May 1973). Italian pianist whose London recitals were very favourably reviewed by Sorabji. Became an American citizen in 1942 and lived in New York. Married the actress Gale Page (real name: Sally Perkins Rutter [1913-83]); their son Luchino Solito De Solis held a juvenile role in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in a 1956 performance at the John Golden Theater in New York. Was previously married to the Countess Isabel Marion Solito De Solis. Dedicatee of the Concerto V for Piano and Large Orchestra [no. 8] (1927-28; 344 pp.).

Delius, Frederick [Frederick Delius] (b. Bradford, Yorkshire, 29 January 1862; d. Grez-sur-Loing, France, 10 June 1934). English composer of mixed continental descent. The earliest reference to a work by Sorabji (as yet untraced) is to a transcription of In a Summer Garden. Listened to the BBC broadcast performance of Le jardin parfumé—​Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.) on 22 April 1930, after which he sent a letter of admiration to Sorabji. Sorabji wrote Il tessuto d’arabeschi (1979; 32 pp.) in his memory.

Derus, Kenneth [Kenneth Derus] American mathematician and logician. Taught philosophy at the University of Chicago and was director of the Center for Combinatorial Mathematics (Kalamazoo, Mich.). Gave a lecture entitled “Another Alkan” to members of the Alkan Society (London) in 1977. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987). Author of an edition of Sorabji’s letters to Philip Heseltine, which forms the basis of a chapter in Paul Rapoport’s Sorabji: A Critical Celebration. Joint dedicatee (with Norman P. Gentieu) of Opus secretum atque necromanticum (1980-81; 48 pp.).

Dieren, Bernard van [Bernard van Dieren] (b. Rotterdam, 27 December 1887; d. London, 24 April 1936). Dutch composer and author. Married the Dutch pianist Frida Kindler, a pupil of his friend Busoni, about whom he wrote a very substantial essay in his book Down among the Dead Men (1935). Sorabji included an essay on him in Mi contra fa.

Douglas, Norman [Norman Douglas] (b. Tilquhillie, Deeside, Scotland, 8 December 1868; d. Capri, Italy, 9 February 1952). Scottish novelist and miscellaneous writer. Member of the British Foreign Service from 1893-98. Sorabji quoted from his Alone (1921) for the “Entête” of Mi contra fa and from South Wind (1925), his most successful novel, in the preface to “Gulistān”—​Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.).

Dowson, Ernest Christopher [Ernest Christopher Dowson] (b. Lee, 2 August 1867; d. Catford, 23 February 1900). English poet and writer who spent most of his life in France. Author of a poem entitled Spleen, set to music by Sorabji, who used the first line (“I was not sorrowful”) as the title.

Drewett, Norah [Norah Drewett] (b. Sutton, Nottinghamshire, 14 June 1882; d. Budapest, 24 April 1960). Canadian pianist of English descent. Wife of Géza de Kresz, the first violinist of the Hart House String Quartet, which was supposed to give the first performance of the Quintet no. 1 for Piano and Quartet of Stringed Instruments (1919-20; 72 pp.) in New York on 29 November 1925.

E

Edroff-Smith, Emily Susan [Emily Edroff-Smith] (b. Poplar, [6 June?] 1867; d. Hampstead, 1953). One of the few English women concert organists of the late nineteenth century. Studied with Frederick Scotson Clarke (1840-93), the founder of the London Organ School, and later taught there. Qualified as an Associate of the Royal College of Music and taught the piano. A friend of Sorabji’s mother, she was known in the family as “Auntie Edroff”. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicatee of the Symphony [no. 1] for Organ (1924; 81 pp.) (1924) and of the Transcription in the Light of Harpsichord Technique for the Modern Piano of the Chromatic Fantasia of J. S. Bach, Followed by a Fugue (1940; 15 pp.).

Edwards, Dr. [Dr. Edwards] (dates unknown). Sorabji’s mathematics tutor in the early 1910s.

Ellis, Henry Havelock [Henry Havelock Ellis] (b. Croydon, London, 2 February 1859; d. Hintlesham, Suffolk, 8 July 1939). English psychologist and writer on the psychology of sexuality. Author of Studies in the Psychology of Sex (7 vols., 1901-28). Sorabji consulted him in the early 1920s on matters relating to his homosexuality and dedicated to him his Concerto per pianoforte e piccola orchestra, “Simorg-Anka” [no. 7] (1924; 100 pp.) at his request.

Ewing, Cecil Cameron [Cecil Ewing] (b. Huddersfield, Yorkshire, 13 November 1925; d. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 24 March 2006). Canadian ophthalmologist of English descent. Formerly a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Saskatchewan, where he was appointed lecturer in 1963 and later became head of the department. Moved back to England (Morpeth, Northumberland) in 1993 (but seems to have returned to Canada at a later date). Studied violin and piano in his youth and was a medical student at the University of Bristol from 1943 to 1949. Practised music throughout his life in choirs, orchestras, and chamber ensembles and was a director of the American Liszt Society. Obtained permission at the second attempt from Sorabji to perform “In the Hothouse” from the Two Piano Pieces (1918, 1920; 20 pp.) at the University of Bristol in 1946. Later met Sorabji and corresponded with him. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

F

Fabre, François [François Fabre]. French teacher of classical literature and translator of medieval and Renaissance Latin texts. Co-edited (with Alexander Abercrombie, Jonathan Powell, and Richard Younger) the Concerto da suonare da me solo e senza orchestra, per divertirmi (1946; 70 pp.). Completed in 2017 an edition of the Messa grande sinfonica (1955-61; 1,001 pp.).

Farnum, Elizabeth [Elizabeth Farnum]. American soprano who, with the pianist Margaret Kampmeier, performed and recorded most of Sorabji’s songs for female voice.

Flynn, George [George Flynn]. American composer; headed between 1977 and 2001 the Department of Composition at DePaul University in Chicago. Composer of Derus Simples, written in memory of Sorabji.

Francis of Assisi, Saint [Saint Francis of Assisi] (full name Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone; b. Assisi, 1181 or 1182; d. Assisi, 1226). Italian friar and founder of the Franciscan Order. Sorabji set to music his blessing of Brother Leo as Benedizione di San Francesco d’Assisi (1973; 2 pp.).

Frantz, Albert [Albert Franz]. American pianist who studied with Roland Batik at the Vienna Conservatory, where he became assistant to Paul and Eva Badura-Skoda. Gave the first performance of the Passeggiata variata sul nome del caro e gentile giovane amico Clive Spencer-Bentley (1981; 3 pp.).

G

Garvelmann, Donald M. [Donald Garvelmann] (b. Stamford, Connecticut, 19 February 1927; d. New York, 3 August 2001). American admirer of Sorabji worked as a secretary in a New York law firm (Hays, Porter, Spanier & Curtis), then in a New York public school. Published an edition of the Pastiche on the “Minute Waltz” by Chopin (1922; 7 pp.) in 1969 and produced a three-hour radio programme of the music of the composer, first broadcast in 1970. Was instrumental in obtaining permission for Michael Habermann to perform, broadcast, and record the composer’s piano works. Wrote the article on Sorabji in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and an introduction to the reprint of Mi contra fa. Produced Habermann’s first two Sorabji recordings, for which he also wrote the liner notes. Dedicatee of the Frammenti aforistici (Sutras) (104) (1962-64; 37 pp.). At a later date Sorabji added the inscription “For Friend Donald Garvelmann” in the manuscript of the Pasticcio capriccioso sopra l’op. 64, no 1 del Chopin (1933; 8 pp.). One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Gates, John [John Gates] (b. Indianapolis, Indiana, 1913; d. 1992). American pianist. Gave the first performance of the Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.) at Carnegie Hall on 20 October 1966.

Gentieu, Norman Pierre [Norman Gentieu] (b. Penns Grove, New Jersey, 1 November 1914; d. Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, 12 October 2009 ). American technical writer and editor who lived in Philadelphia; worked for the Foote Mineral Company. Studied harmony and composition with Stefan Wolpe at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia in 1940-41, and composed for his own pleasure. Served as bell ringer at St. Luke’s Church (Germantown, Penn.) from 1956 to 1964. Founded two one-man foundations named The Society of Connoisseurs (1952) and The Criterion Club (1953?) to further the realization of a microfilming project of Sorabji’s output, and, through Bernard van Dieren Jr., had a tape recorder purchased and sent to the composer in the hope that Sorabji would record some of his works. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicatee of the Third Organ Symphony (1949-53; 305 pp.), the Suggested Bell-Chorale for St. Luke’s Carillon (1961; 1 p.), and (jointly with Kenneth Derus) Opus secretum atque necromanticum (1980-81; 48 pp.). Commissioned Il tessuto d’arabeschi (1979; 32 pp.) for the Philadelphia branch of the Delius Society, of which he was a founding member in 1977. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987). Joint dedicatee (with Frank Holliday and Nicolas Slonimsky) of Paul Rapoport’s Sorabji: A Critical Celebration.

Gervais, Terence White [Terence White Gervais] (b. Kingston upon Thames, 1913; d. 1968). English writer. Author of the article on Sorabji in the fifth edition of Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1954) and of three articles on Busoni in The Chesterian (1953, 1960) as well as of an article entitled “An Italian Musical Renascence?”, Music and Letters 27, no. 2 (April 1946): 108-14, in which Sorabji is mentioned once and Busoni several times; a footnote suggests that Gervais also composed (a concerto for piano and small orchestra is listed on Schott’s website as having been published by Ars-Viva-Verlag, no date given). Author of an opuscule entitled New Organ Principles and Their Interpretation: A Guide to and Suggestions on Phrasing and Registration, with a View to Improved Organ Playing (London: Wm Reeves, late 1930s). Author of Patrice Freed and Other Poems (London: Fortune Press, 1948) and, using the pseudonyms Terence d’O. White and Gervas d’Olbert, respectively, of Poems (Oxford: [Oxonian Press], 1944) and Chastisement across the Ages (London: Fortune Press, 1956). Published “Freud and the Culture-Psychologists”, British Journal of Psychology 46, no. 4 (November 1955): 293-305, which cites Patrice Freed in its bibliography (showing that the author is indeed the same), as welll as an article entitled “Render unto Caesar”, in The Hibbert Journal: A Quarterly Review of Religion, Theology and Philosophy 44 (1946): 263-70. Also listed in library catalogues as a translator of Panorama d’histoire de l’Église by Abbé Louis Munch and Jacques Montjuvin (1957) under the title of Panorama of Church History (Paris: Éditions de l’École, [1960]). A photograph of him (with Ronald Stevenson and John Ogdon) can be found in the booklet for the Altarus AIR-CD-9063 (2) recording entitled “In memoriam John Ogdon, 1937-1989”.

Ghuman, Nalini [Nalini Ghuman]. English musicologist teaching at Mills College (Oakland, Calif.) since 2003. Obtained her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley in 2003 with a dissertation entitled “India in the English Musical Imagination, 1890-1940”, which includes a chapter on Sorabji that was also published in in the collective book Western Music and Race (2007) and expanded considerably in Resonances of the Raj: India in the English Musical Imagination, 1897-1947 (2014).

Godowsky, Leopold [Leopold Godowsky] (b. Wilno, 13 February 1870; d. New York, 21 November 1938). Polish-born American pianist and composer whose consummate technique is considered to have been unique in the history of piano playing. Developed the polyphonic, polyrhythmic, and polydynamic possibilities of the piano to unprecedented levels in his Studies after Chopin’s Etudes. Made piano transcriptions of some of the sonatas for violin and suites for cello by Bach in a style very similar to that used by Busoni in his transcription of Bach’s Chaconne for violin. Sorabji reviewed two of his London recitals in the 1920s and included an essay on him entitled “Leopold Godowsky as Creative Transcriber” in Mi contra fa.

Grace, Harvey [Harvey Grace] (b. Romsey, Hampshire, 25 January 1874; d. Bromley, Kent, 15 February 1944). English organist and music writer. Editor of the Musical Times from 1918 to 1944, for which he reviewed some of Sorabji’s published works.

Gray, Cecil [Cecil Gray] (b. Edinburgh, 19 May 1895; d. Worthing, 9 September 1951). English critic and composer. Founded The Sackbut with Philip Heseltine in 1920. Sorabji gave him a private performance of the Sonata seconda for Piano (1920; 49 pp.) in December 1921.

Gray-Fisk, Clinton (Bowen) [Clinton Gray-Fisk] (b. New York, 7 July 1904; d. London, 28 May 1961). American critic and music writer living in England. Member of the Council of the Critics’ Circle in 1952. British representative of the International Godowsky Society, chaired by Paul Howard. Chairman of the National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports (St John’s Wood, London NW8). Published an introductory article on Sorabji in the Musical Times in 1960. Was the chief critic of Musical Opinion from 1945 until his death. Reviewed Around Music for The New Age, and Mi contra fa for Musical Opinion. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicatee of the Toccatinetta sopra C.G.F. (1929; 8 pp.), the Sonata V (Opus archimagicum) (1934-35; 336 pp.), and the Toccata terza (1955; 91 pp.). Had an interest in the occult and, like Sorabji, published in The Occult Review.

Gretchaninov, Alexander Tikhonovich [Alexander Gretchaninov] (b. Moscow, 25 October 1864; d. New York, 4 January 1956). Russian composer who emigrated to the United States in 1940, best known for his children’s music and liturgical music. Sorabji wrote variations on the “Credo” from his Liturgy no. 2 of St. John Chrysostom, op. 29, in the second part of Opusculum clavisymphonicum vel claviorchestrale (1973-75; 334 pp.).

Grew, Sydney [Sydney Grew] (b. Birmingham, 31 August 1879; d. Birmingham, 24 December 1946). Author of an article on Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.) in The British Musician (1928), of which he was the editor.

Guercio, Francis M[ichael] [Francis M. Guercio] (b. Liverpool, 19 September 1899; d. Liverpool, 23 October 1987). English-Sicilian (?) writer. Author of Sicily, The Garden of the Mediterranean: The Country and Its People (1938, rev. eds., 1948, 1968), from the conclusion of which Sorabji recorded on tape in 1962 two excerpts under the title “An Assessment of the Sicilian Temperament”. Described on the jacket of the second edition (1948) as a lecturer in Italian at the University of London. Also compiled, translated, and edited an Anthology of Contemporary Italian Prose (1931, repr. 1970) and assisted Piero Rèbora in the compilation of his Cassell’s Italian-English, English-Italian Dictionary (first published in 1958), for which his “Saggio di lessicografia comparata Italiano-Ingleses” (B.A. thesis, Liverpool University, 1925) had certainly laid some groundwork.

Gula, Robert J. [Robert J. Gula] (1941-89). American writer who taught a course in logic at the Groton School in Massachusetts. Published an extensive article on Sorabji’s published piano works in the Journal of the American Liszt Society (1982). Author or several books among which are Nonsense: How to Overcome It (New York: Stein and Day, 1979) and Precision: A Reference Handbook for Writers (Cambridge, Mass.: Winthrop Publishers, c1980).

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Habermann, Michael [Michael Habermann]. American pianist. Studied with Carlos Vázquez, a pupil of Egon Petri, and with Hilde Somer (1930-79) and Fernando Laires (1925-2016). Received permission from Sorabji to perform his works in public, in a letter from the composer to Donald M. Garvelmann, dated 28 July 1976. Gave several first performances of small and medium-size works by Sorabji from 1973 and made the first commercial recording of his music in 1980; four others were to follow. Gave his first official Sorabji recital at Carnegie Hall on 22 May 1977. Received his D.M.A. from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in 1985 with a dissertation on Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.). Dedicatee of “Il gallo d’oro” da Rimsky-Korsakov: Variazioni frivole con una fuga anarchica, eretica e perversa (1978-79; 93 pp.). One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987). Contributor to Paul Rapoport’s Sorabji: A Critical Celebration.

Hambourg, Boris [Boris Hamburg] (b. Voronezh, 27 December 1885; d. Toronto, Ontario, 24 November 1954). Canadian cellist of Russian origin. Member of the Hart House String Quartet, which was supposed to give the first performance of the Quintet no. 1 for Piano and Quartet of Stringed Instruments (1919-20; 72 pp.) in New York on 29 November 1925.

Hamelin, Marc-André [Marc-André Hamelin]. Canadian pianist living in the Boston area. Renowned for his performances and recordings of large-scale nineteenth- and twentieth-century piano music, including works by Liszt, Alkan, Busoni, Godowsky, and Sorabji. Composed a Praeambulum to an Imaginary Piano Symphony (Homage to Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, 1892-1988 (1989) and made the first recording of Sonata no. 1 for Piano (1919; 42 pp.) in 1990. Prepared editions of L’heure exquise (1916; 2 pp.), “Gulistān”—​Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.), nos. 1-18 of the Études transcendantes (100) (1940-44; 456 pp.), and the Suggested Bell-Chorale for St. Luke’s Carillon (1961; 1 p.).

Hardy, Lisa [Lisa Hardy]. English musicologist. Author of a book entitled The British Piano Sonata, 1870-1945 (London: The Boydell Press, 2001), originally her Ph.D. dissertation at the University of London (1997), which includes a chapter on Sonata no. 1 for Piano (1919; 42 pp.).

Hart House String Quartet (1923-46). Canadian chamber ensemble. Was supposed to give the first performance of the Quintet no. 1 for Piano and Quartet of Stringed Instruments (1919-20; 72 pp.) in New York on 29 November 1925 with pianist Norah Drewett, wife of the ensemble’s first violinist, Géza de Kresz.

Heseltine, Philip [Philip Heseltine] (b. London, 30 October 1894; d. London, 17 December 1930). English composer (under the name of Peter Warlock). Corresponded with Sorabji from 1913 to 1922. Founded the periodical The Sackbut in 1920, in which Sorabji published a few articles. Edited Milo (Magazine of the Imperial League of Opera), in which one of Sorabji’s essays was published. Author of articles about him in Arthur Eaglefield-Hull’s Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians (1924) and the Weekly Westminster Gazette (London) in 1928. Dedicatee of the Concerto [no. 1] pour piano et grand orchestre (1915-16; 177 pp.) and the Quintet no. 1 for Piano and Quartet of Stringed Instruments (1919-20; 72 pp.).

Hill, Ralph [Ralph Hill] (b. Watford, Hertfordshire, 8 October 1900; d. London, 20 October 1950). English critic. Reviewed the score of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) for The Chesterian in 1932.

Hinton, Alistair [Alistair Hinton]. Scottish composer. Founded in 1988 the Sorabji Music Archive. Studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Humphrey Searle and Stephen Savage. Closest friend of Sorabji since 1972. Persuaded him in 1976 to relax his embargo on public performance of his works. Dedicated to Sorabji the piano works Morceau d’anniversaire pour Kaikhosru Sorabji and Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Grieg. Dedicatee of eight works by Sorabji. Assisted Paul Rapoport from 1978 onwards in the preparation of microfilms of previously unfilmed Sorabji manuscripts (1978). Author and one of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987). Prepared an edition of Trois poèmes (1941; 13 pp.). Sole heir to all the composer’s musical and literary works. Wrote Pansophiae for John Ogdon, an organ work (commissioned and premiered by Kevin Bowyer) in memory of the great pianist with whom he collaborated in the preparation of his recording of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.). Also assisted in the preparation of other recordings of Sorabji’s music. Contributed to Paul Rapoport’s Sorabji: A Critical Celebration.

Holbrook, David Kenneth [David Holbrook] (b. Norwich, 9 January 1923; d. Norwich, 11 August 2011). English poet. Author of Gustav Mahler and the Courage to Be, Studies in the Psychology of Culture (London: Vision Press, 1975). Published a poem entitled “Am I a Sort of Sorabji?” in the London Magazine (August-September 1988).

Holliday, Frank [Frank Holliday] (b. Belvedere, Kent, 6 October 1912; d. Hailsham, East Sussex, 19 November 1997). English schoolteacher and one of Sorabji’s closest friends from 1937 to 1979. Met Sorabji through Bernard Bromage. Studied physics and mathematics and was later in charge of training in a large engineering company; also taught at Charles Vale College, Filleigh, Barnstaple, North Devon. Set up a “K. S. Sorabji Fund” to raise money to help Sorabji record some of his works and, in 1953, presented him with a letter of admiration signed by twenty-three friends and admirers. Made several private recordings of the composer playing his own works between 1962 and 1968. Author of a text entitled “Splendour upon Splendour: On Hearing Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Play” (1960). Dedicatee of “Gulistān”—​Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.) and the Second Symphony for Piano (1954; 248 pp.) (both dedications later transferred to Harold Morland) and the Toccata quarta (1964-67; 149 pp.; dedication later transferred to Paul Rapoport). Joint dedicatee (with Norman P. Gentieu and Nicolas Slonimsky) of Paul Rapoport’s book Sorabji: A Critical Celebration).

Hopkins, Charles [Charles Hopkins] (b. London, 11 March 1952; d. Gosforth, Newcastle, 21 July 2007). English pianist, writer, and critic who first became interested in Sorabji through his friendship with John Ogdon. Wrote on several subjects: metaphysics, philosophy, oriental art and literature, history, mathematics, and linguistics; was also a chess problemist and crossword compiler. Taught the piano at the Chetham’s School of Music (Manchester) and at the Universities of Manchester and York (where he lived in the latter part of his life). One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987). Recorded “Gulistān”—​Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.) for Altarus in 1995, for which he provided very detailed and learned notes. Translated the texts of Sorabji’s songs for Elizabeth Farnum’s recording. Gave what was probably the first UK performance of Luciano Berio’s Sequenza IV from a facsimile of the manuscript. There is a Charles Hopkins Admiration Society on Facebook. A tribute by Chris Rice was previously available on the website of Altarus Records.

Houdt, Reinier van [Reinier van Houdt]. Dutch pianist who studied with Geoffrey Douglas Madge. Gave the first performance of the Fourth Symphony for Piano Alone (1962-64; 240 pp.) in Utrecht in 2003.

Howard, Paul [Paul Howard] (b. London, 8 April 1875; d. Adelaide, Australia, 8 March 1953). English champion of Leopold Godowsky who set up a correspondence course for secretarial work and for wool classing in Australia. Founded an International Godowsky Society for which Clinton Gray-Fisk, its representative for the British Isles, recruited Sorabji. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works.

Huisman, Lukas [Lukas Huisman]. Dutch pianist. Edited and performed the Frammenti aforistici (Sutras) (104) (1962-64; 37 pp.); also edited the Frammenti aforistici (4) (1977; 1 p.). Co-edited (with Thomas Smetryns) the Frammenti aforistici (Sutras) (104) (1962-64; 37 pp.) and Opus secretum atque necromanticum (1980-81; 48 pp.).

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Inglis, Brian Andrew [Brian Andrew Inglis]. English musicologist and composer; lecturer in music at the School of Media and Performing Arts of Middlesex University (London). Author of an M.A. thesis at City University (London) entitled “The Life and Music of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji” (1993) and of articles about him published in British Music News (1996) and Tempo (2010). Prepared with Barry Smith a complete edition of Sorabji’s letters to Philip Heseltine (Routledge, 2019).

Ireland, John [John Ireland] (b. Bowdon, 13 August 1879; d. Rock Mill, Washington, Sussex, 12 June 1962). English composer. Corresponded with Sorabji for at least forty years. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicatee of Opusculum for Orchestra (1923; 36 pp.) and Opus clavisymphonicum—​Concerto for Piano and Large Orchestra for Piano and Large Orchestra (1957-59; 333 pp.).

Irving, James Duncan [James Duncan Irving] (b. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 7 April 1922; d. London, 30 January 2015). English diagnostic radiologist and collector of piano and chamber music involving the piano. Received from Sorabji, on 10 July 1944, a bound copy of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [no. 5] (1920; 144 pp.) and his “Working Copy” of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.). He gave the former to the Royal College of Music in about 1992, and the latter to the Sorabji Archive on 18 April 1997.

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James, Montague Rhodes [Montague Rhodes James, M. R. James] (b. Goodnestone next Wingham, Kent, 1 August 1862; d. Provost’s Lodge, Eton, Berkshire, 12 June 1936). English antiquarian, editor, translator, and writer of stories of the supernatural. Scholar of apocryphal biblical literature and of medieval illuminated manuscripts. Author of Count Magnus and Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book, which inspired Sorabji to write respectively “Quaere reliqua hujus materiei inter secretiora” (1940; 16 pp.) and St. Bertrand de Comminges: “He was laughing in the tower” (1941; 16 pp.).

Jarvis, Frazer [Frazer Jarvis]. English mathematician, lecturer in pure mathematics at the University of Sheffield. One of the administrators of the Sorabji Forum. Has contributed several typeset editions of works by Sorabji and Alistair Hinton.

Jenkins, Theodore [Theodore Jenkins] (b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire, 2 May 1900; d. Coventry, Warwickshire, 1981; or b. 1908; d. Newbury, Berkshire, 1941). Friend of Sorabji in the late 1910s about whom nothing is known. Dedicatee of “In the Hothouse” and “Toccata”, published together as Two Piano Pieces (1918, 1920; 20 pp.).

Johnson, Tellef [Tellef Johnson]. American pianist and composer, now active in the field of cinema. Gave the first modern performance of the Sonata seconda for Piano (1920; 49 pp.), which he recorded for the Altarus label. Also performed the Sonata III for Piano (1922; 75 pp.).

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Kampmeier, Margaret [Margaret Kampmeier]. American pianist who obtained her D.M.A. in 1990. Played the piano part in Elizabeth Farnum’s recording of Sorabji’s songs. Currently on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.

Katz, Maurice B. [Maurice B. Katz] (b. 1895?; d. Philadelphia, 22 October 1960). American pianist and accompanist who taught at the Granoff School of Music for thirty-five years. Said to have sight-read Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) in his Philadelphia studio in the mid- or late-1930s. The Chester Times of 5 March 1927 mentions him as the piano soloist of the evening at a concert given by the Delaware County Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard De Maria.

Kindler, Frida [Frida Kindler] (b. Rotterdam, 21 March 1879; d. London, 26 January 1964). Dutch pianist. Wife of Bernard van Dieren. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works.

Kingsland, Chappell [Chappell Kingsland]. American composer and pianist. Arranged Frammento cantato (1967; 1 p.) for baritone, organ, and assistant organist (2021) and completed Le mauvais jardinier (1919; 1 p.) (2023). Masterminded concerts featuring performances of songs and chamber works, in particular the Cinque sonetti di Michelagniolo Buonarroti (1923; 40 pp.) and Il tessuto d’arabeschi (1979; 32 pp.), both using the second editions by Marc-André Roberge, to appear on disc in 2024 on the BIS label.

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Lacasse, Serge [Serge Lacasse] Canadian (Québec) musicologist (popular music) and professor of Laval University since 2002. Wrote a B.A. honours thesis on the Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.) at Laval University (1992), with Marc-André Roberge as adviser; also worked as a research assistant for Roberge at the time.

Lees, Aubrey E. [Aubrey E. Lees] (b. Newcastle upon Tyne, 1903; d. 1954). English captain and schoolteacher, whom Sorabji called “Ruggiero Secondo”, and with whom he corresponded in the mid-1950s. He could be the Aubrey Lees whose poem “The Stricken Tree” was published in English: The Magazine of the English Association 4, no. 22 (Spring 1943): 118 (his only publication in that magazine); he is listed as Aubrey E. Lees, then of 6 Roseworth Avenue, Gosforth, Northumberland, in the “List of Members Enrolled since January 1, 1942” in the back of that issue. He is most probably not Aubrey Lees, the colonial civil servant who was at one time deputy-governor of the Palestinian Jaffa district.

Leonard, Sarah [Sarah Leonard]. English soprano known for her performances of contemporary music. Gave the first performances (with Jonathan Powell) of Apparition (1916; 5 pp.) and Hymne à Aphrodite (1916; 5 pp.) on 3 November 2000.

Liebermann, Lowell [Lowell Liebermann]. American composer. Wrote to Sorabji in 1980, seeking permission to perform some of his works. Dedicated a concerto for piano (1983) to him.

Lightly, Henry [Henry (Edward William Humphrey) Lightly] (b. South Warwickshire, 21 September 1909; d. 2001). Friend of Sorabji whom he met through his friend Edward Joseph Nason, the dedicatee of St. Bertrand de Comminges: “He was laughing in the tower” (1941; 16 pp.). Both of them lived in St. John’s Wood and saw Sorabji until his move to Corfe Castle. A Henry Lightly (1909-2002) is credited as the author of a pencil drawing of a Spanish cart offered as lot 3000 (no longer shown) by Burstow & Hewett (Battle, East Sussex) on 25 July 2019.

Liszt, Franz [Franz Liszt] (b. Raiding, Hungary, 22 October 1811; d. Bayreuth, 31 July 1886). Hungarian pianist and composer. Devoted about half of his creative output to transcriptions. Exerted a considerable influence on Busoni, who performed, edited, and transcribed a number of his works. Sorabji wrote an essay on his piano transcriptions in Around Music.

Lorenz, Robert [Robert Lorenz] (b. 1891; d. 1945). English businessman and music writer. Friend of Sorabji since at least 1922. Gave up his business at the beginning of the Second World War and joined the recruiting department of the BBC and later its Music Department. Wrote articles for and sent letters to the editor of The Sackbut and The Musical Times. Dedicatee of Around Music.

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MacDiarmid, Hugh (real name: Christopher Murray Grieve) [Hugh MacDiarmid] (b. Langholm, Dumfriesshire, 11 August 1892; d. Edinburgh, 9 September 1978). Scottish poet, editor, and translator. Considered one of Scotland’s greatest poets. Author of Francis George Scott: An Essay on the Occasion of His Seventy-Fifth Birthday, 25th January 1955 (1955) and of The Company I’ve Kept (1966), both of which include reminiscences of Sorabji. Dedicatee of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) and the Fantasiettina sul nome illustre dell’egregio poeta Christopher Grieve ossia Hugh M’Diarmid (1961; 10 pp.).

McArden, Joy [Joy McArden] (née Johanna Maria Goverdina IJzenman; b. Diemerburg near Amsterdam, 16 January 1893; d. Birmingham, 17 April 1952). Dutch soprano, pupil of Emma Calvé, Roberto Tamanti, Mme Charles Cahier, and Blanche Marchesi. Taught at the Midland School of Music in Birmingham and started an opera class at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium in 1929. Probably gave the first performance of the Trois poèmes (1941; 13 pp.) for the composer with her third husband, the pianist H. James Cooper. Sorabji published her obituary in Musical Opinion.

Madge, Geoffrey Douglas [Geoffrey Douglas Madge]. Australian pianist. Professor of piano at the Conservatory of Music and Dance in The Hague. Known for his performances of contemporary works, especially Xenakis. Gave the first performance in more than fifty years of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.). One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987). Dedicatee of the Passeggiata arlecchinesca sopra un frammento di Busoni (“Rondò arlecchinesco”) (1981-82; 16 pp.). Contributor to Paul Rapoport’s Sorabji: A Critical Celebration.

Mahler, Gustav [Gustav Mahler] (b. Kališt, Bohemia, 7 July 1860; d. Vienna, 18 May 1911). Austrian conductor and composer of lieder and large-scale symphonies. Sorabji published an essay on his Eighth Symphony in the Monthly Musical Record (1930) and on his symphonies in general in Around Music.

Malloch, George Reston [George Reston Malloch] (b. 1875; d. London, 31 December 1953). Scottish writer much admired by Christopher Murray Grieve. Author of Arabella: A Play in Three Acts (London: Stephen Swift, 1912) and Lyrics and Other Verses (London: Elkin Mathews, 1913). Sorabji seems to have met Francis George Scott at his home.

Mairet, Philippe Auguste [Philip Mairet] (b. 27 April 1886; d. 9 February 1975). Editor of The New English Weekly and author of The Douglas Manual; Being a Recension of Passages from the Works of Major C.H. Douglas (London: J. M. Dent and Sons, 1934) and of A. R. Orage: A Memoir (London: J. M. Dent, 1936). One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works.

Manning, Jane (Marian) [Jane Manning] (b. 20 September 1938; d. 31 March 2021). English soprano known as a leading interpreter of contemporary music. Reputed to have given the first performance of over 350 works. Performed (with pianist Yonty Solomon) Sorabji’s Trois poèmes pour chant et piano (1918, 1919; 9 pp.) and Trois fêtes galantes de Verlaine (ca. 1919; 11 pp.) on the BBC in 1979. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Marchesi de Castrone, Blanche [Blanche Marchesi] (b. Paris, 4 April 1863; d. London, 15 December 1940). French soprano singer and teacher. Dedicatee of the song L’irrémédiable (1927; 8 pp.). Sorabji included an essay on her in Mi contra fa.

Margiotta, Maria Rosaria [Maria Rosaria Margiotta]. Italian-born musicologist, now active as a music teacher in Brisbane, Australia. Author of a tesi di laurea in Bologna (1996) on Sorabji as a music critic and of a Master of Philosophy thesis at City University (1999) on the history of Sorabji’s publishers, including an edition of the penultimate of the Études transcendantes (100) (1940-44; 456 pp.).

Marrot, Harold Vincent [Harold Vincent Marrot] (b. London, 1898; d. Guildford, 25 April 1954). English author on typography and specialist on John Galsworthy, with whom he collaborated for six and a half years on A Bibliography of the Works of John Galsworthy (London: E. Mathews and Marrot, 1928; repr. New York: Burt Franklin, 1968). Worked as publishing director for the firm of Elkin Mathews, the antiquarian booksellers, from 1923. Dedicatee of Valse-fantaisie for Piano (1925; 16 pp.). Published a poem entitled “Candour”, inscribed “For Kaikhosru Sorabji”, in a collection entitled Littered Spaces (London: Elkin Matthews, 1925).

Martine (née Boutte), Marthe [Marthe Martine] (b. Sedan, 4 March 1891; d. Paris, 29 April 1948). French soprano. Dedicatee of the Trois poèmes pour chant et piano (1918, 1919; 9 pp.), of which she gave the first performance with the composer in Paris in 1921.

Medtner, Nikolay Karlovich [Nikolay Medtner] (b. Moscow, 5 January 1880; d. London, 13 November 1951). Russian composer and pianist. Wrote fourteen piano sonatas and three piano concertos. Sorabji included an essay on him in Around Music and contributed an article entitled “The Greatness of Medtner” to a Festschrift published in 1955; he also took part in a BBC programme on the composer, broadcast on 30 December 1979.

Miller, Elma [Elma Miller]. Canadian composer and copyist. Prepared parts for the first performance of Il tessuto d’arabeschi (1979; 32 pp.) in 1980.

Montgomery, C. Robert [C. Robert Montgomery]. American engineer and mathematics professor. Enthusiast of the higher echelons of the piano repertoire. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Morland, Harold [Harold Morland] (b. Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire, 2 July 1908; St. Anne’s, Lancashire, 6 February 1999). English writer and translator of Arabic poetry active; also wrote plays for boys. Friend of Sorabji at least since 1934. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicatee of the Frammenti aforistici (20) (1964; 9 pp.) and the Frammento cantato (1967; 1 p.) and retrospective dedicatee of “Gulistān”—​Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.) and the Second Symphony for Piano (1954; 248 pp.) (both previously dedicated to Frank Holliday). One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987). Wrote poems containing references to Sorabji or inscribed to him. Sorabji used his “improvisation” on one of a long sequence of poems by the Sanskrit poet Klidsa for his Frammento cantato (1967; 1 p.).

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Nairn, Edward Gillespie [Edward Gillespie Nairn] (b. Glasgow, 6 June 1918; d. Edinburgh, 26 June 2013). Scottish bookseller who, with Ian Watson, started trading in Edinburgh in 1964 under the name of John Updike, Rare Books and Manuscripts. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Nason, Edward Joseph [Edward Joseph Nason] (b. Willesden, Middlesex, 12 December 1907; d. Boar’s Head, Crowborough, Sussex, 7 June 1976). Friend of the composer, whom he met at a time when he was a cashier at the Abbey Road Building Society in Baker Street. Nason and a friend of his, Henry Edward Lightly, lived in St. John’s Wood and saw Sorabji until he moved to Corfe Castle. Sorabji paid for an eye treatment he underwent with a German ophtalmologist in the mid-1930s. Dedicatee of St. Bertrand de Comminges: “He was laughing in the tower” (1941; 16 pp.).

Nasseri, Soheil [Soheil Nasseri]. Iranian-American pianist. Gave the first performance of the Sonata no. 0 (1917; 30 pp.) in New York on 17 September 2002, which he then recorded for the Centaur label in 2007.

Newman, Ernest [Ernest Newman] (b. Liverpool, 30 November 1868; d. Tadworth, 7 July 1959; real name: William Roberts). English music critic and writer. Neglected to examine the score of one of Sorabji’s works that had been strongly commended by Philip Heseltine in 1919, an attitude that led to an extended controversy in the pages of Musical Opinion. Sorabji later expressed great admiration for him.

Nichols, Robert (Malise Bowyer) [Robert Nichols] (b. Shanklin, Isle of Wight, 16 September 1893; d. Cambridge, 14 December 1944). English poet and playwright who, at the urging of Philip Heseltine, wrote a libretto used by Sorabji for his Music to “The Rider by Night” (1919; 54 pp.).

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Ogdon, John (Andrew Howard) [John Ogdon] (b. Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, 27 January 1937; d. London, 1 August 1989). English pianist and composer. Pupil of Egon Petri. Made his debut in 1958 with Ferruccio Busoni’s Concerto for Piano, Orchestra, and Male Chorus, which he subsequently recorded. Performed and recorded Charles-Valentin Alkan’s three-movement “Concerto” from the Twelve Etudes in the Minor Keys, op. 39, Ronald Stevenson’s Passacaglia on DSCH, as well as Sorabji’s Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.), which he performed and recorded. Was working on the Études transcendantes (100) (1940-44; 456 pp.) in preparation for a recording when he died.

Orage, Alfred Richard [Alfred Orage] (b. Dacre, Yorkshire, 22 January 1873; d. Hampstead, London, 6 November 1934). English social thinker associated with guild socialism. Editor of The New Age and founder of The New English Weekly, for which Sorabji was a critic. Wrote the foreword to Around Music.

Osterreid, Ludmille [Ludmille Osterreid] (b. 1855; d. after December 1921). Germany lady who worked originally worked as a governess in London. Became Sorabji’s German tutor in or after 1908 and corresponded with him in the early 1920s after returning to Germany.

Ottaway, Walter E. [Walter E. Ottaway] (b. 1875; d. April-June 1951). Saddler working in Corfe Castle, with a shop at 43 East Street {Google Maps}, now listed as a Grade II building on the Historic England website under number 1228974. A man of many intellectual interests, his house was lined with books on all sorts of subjects. At one point he ran a small publishing house with his son, their only known title being James Silvester, The Metrical Chronicle of Corfe Castle, by the Author of “The Spiritual Year” (Corfe Castle: W. E. Ottaway & Son, 1931), 15 pp. A copy is available in the National Trust Collections under inventory number 1255768 (includes a picture of the cover); see also British Library, General Reference Collection 11640.de.19. Sorabji wrote a “Tribute by an Old Friend” on the death of his friend.

Ould, Barry Peter [Barry Peter Ould]. Scottish music publisher and copyist. Owner of Bardic Edition (Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire) and Secretary of the International Percy Grainger Society. Set and published the Fantasiettina atematica (1981; 2 pp.) edited by Ronald Stevenson.

Owen, Sean Vaughn [Sean Vaughn Owen]. American guitarist and musicologist living in Seattle, working in the financial world. Received his Ph.D. from the University of Southampton (2006) with a dissertation consisting of an oral biography of Sorabji that uncovered important biographical evidence about Sorabji’s mother.

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Payne, Anthony [Anthony Payne] (b. London, 2 August 1936; d. 30 April 2021). English composer and critic (for The Daily Telegraph and later The Independent). Husband of the soprano Jane Manning. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987). Reviewed some of Yonty Solomon’s Sorabji performances for The Daily Telegraph.

Peterkin, Norman [Norman Peterkin] (b. Liverpool, 21 December 1886; d. East Horsley, Surrey, 15 December 1982). English composer of Scottish and Irish descent. One of Sorabji’s closest friends from about 1917. Worked for the music departement of Oxford University Press as sales manager (1925-47) and music editor (1941-47) and, in this capacity, was instrumental, in 1938, in making the Press the exclusive selling agent of Sorabji’s compositions published between 1921 and 1931. In 1977 successfully persuaded Sorabji to become a member of the Performing Right Society. Dedicatee of Quasi habanera (1917; 6 pp.), the Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.), the Toccata seconda per pianoforte (1933-34; 111 pp.), and the Concerto da suonare da me solo e senza orchestra, per divertirmi (1946; 70 pp.). One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. A recording of twenty-six songs, with Charlotte de Rothschild (soprano) and Adrian Farmer (piano), was released on Lyrita SRCD.362 (2017). Wrote a number of his songs to words by his wife, Marie (née Lang; d. 1960), according to British Library records.

Petri, Egon [Egon Petri] (b. Hanover, 23 March 1881; d. Berkeley, California, 27 May 1962). German pianist of Dutch descent. Pupil and lifelong friend of Ferruccio Busoni, with whom he edited a 25-volume set of Bach’s keyboard works. Prepared the piano scores of his master’s major works. Received high praise from Sorabji for his performances of works by Busoni and others. Dedicatee of the Sequentia cyclica super “Dies irae” ex Missa pro defunctis (1948-49; 335 pp.). One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works.

Pierce IV, Solon W. [Solon Pierce]. American pianist. Received a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, a master’s degree from Juilliard, and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. Gave the first performance of the Transcription of the Prelude in E-flat by Bach (1945; 4 pp.) on 4 April 1999 in Madison, Wisc.

Pirie, Peter John [Peter John Pirie] (b. Worthing, Sussex, April-June 1916; d. Ipswich, Suffolk, 10 July 1997). English writer on music. Author of three articles published in Music and Musicians, dealing partly or wholly with Sorabji: “The Lost Generation” (1972), “The Search for Sorabji” (1979), and a review of Paul Rapoport’s book Opus est: Six Composers from Northern Europe (1978). Author of The English Musical Renaissance: Twentieth Century Composers and Their Works (London: Victor Gollancz, 1979).

Posner, Bruce [Bruce Posner]. American pianist and broadcaster. Wrote his undergraduate honours thesis on Sorabji (whom he met in 1988) at Fordham University in 1975 while a biology major. Recorded two discs with Donald Garvelmann discs entitled “Celtic Keyboards: Duets by Irish Composers” (1996) and “On Heather Hill: Duo-Piano Discoveries from the British Isles” (2000). Hosted a radio programme called “Concert Grande”, devoted to keyboard music, for sixteen years. See an interview (audio only) as Bruce Posner & Joe Patrych with David Dubal, 1/1/82 (YouTube, publ. 17 March 2013).

Powell, Jonathan [Jonathan Powell]. English pianist and composer. Has commissioned several works and given first performances. Also the author of several articles on Russian composers for the second edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Began in 2001 an extensive programme of editions, performances, and recordings of music by Sorabji (preparing editions of no less than twelve works by Sorabji and participating in two others). Has given more first performances of Sorabji’s works, including the massive Sequentia cyclica super “Dies irae” ex Missa pro defunctis (1948-49; 335 pp.), and has more Sorabji works in his repertoire than any other performer to date.

Procter, Robert William [Robert William Procter] (b. Petersfield, Hampshire, 1 July 1945; d. Blackpool, Lancashire, 2005). English aircraft engineer at British Aerospace in Warton, Lancashire, working as a production supervisor on military aircraft. Friend of Harold Morland, whose poetry he discovered in 1980, and who moved into his house in St. Anne’s-on-Sea, Lancashire. His nickname “Alexis” refers to the Greek legend of a shepherd boy who looked after an ageing shepherd. After Morland’s death in 1999, Procter set up a private archive of his friend’s poetry. Dedicatee of the Due sutras sul nome dell’amico Alexis (1981, 1984; 2 pp.).

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Quilter, Roger [Roger Quilter] (b. Brighton, Sussex, 1 November 1877; d. London, 21 September 1953). English composer. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works.

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Rapoport, Paul [Paul Rapoport]. Canadian musicologist and composer; retired professor of McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario) and principal operator of the website QuartetWeb, the string quartet since 1914: an international professional resource. One of the leading exponents of research on Sorabji. Made a computer realization of excerpts from Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) using an IBM 360/75 computer (1975). Prepared (with Kenneth Derus) a microfilm entitled “Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: Selected Writings from Five Serial Publications” (1977) and (with Alistair Hinton) “Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: Selected Music Compositions” (1978). Author of several articles and reviews on Sorabji and of a chapter entitled “Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji and his Opus Clavicembalisticum” in his book Opus est: Six Composers from Northern Europe (1978). Editor of the collective volume entitled Sorabji: A Critical Celebration (1992). Retrospective dedicatee of the Toccata quarta (1964-67; 149 pp.). One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Reger, Max [Max Reger] (b. Brand, Bavaria, 19 March 1873; d. Leipzig, 11 May 1916). German composer, noted for his organ works and his monumental fugues characterized by complex contrapuntal textures. Sorabji included an essay on his organ works in Around Music.

René, Benjamin [Benjamin René]. Canadian (Québec) musicologist active as a professor of music literature at the Cégep de Sainte-Foy (Québec City). Author of an honours thesis on the extramusical elements in Sorabji’s works (1999) and of a master’s thesis on Opusculum for Orchestra (1923; 36 pp.) (2001), both submitted to the Laval University under the supervision of Marc-André Roberge, for whom he also worked as a research assistant.

Rice, Chris [Chris Rice] Cornish record producer. Producer of several recordings of music by Sorabji, Busoni, Stevenson, and Hinton under his own Altarus label. Relocated his company from Sevenoaks, Kent, to Ridgefield, Conn. in the summer of 1993. Prepared editions of the Variazione maliziosa e perversa sopra “La morte d’Åse” da Grieg (1974; 2 pp.), St. Bertrand de Comminges: “He was laughing in the tower” (1941; 16 pp.), and “Quaere reliqua hujus materiei inter secretiora” (1940; 16 pp.) as well as (with Donna Amato) corrected copies of the Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.) and the Valse-fantaisie for Piano (1925; 16 pp.).

Richards, Edward George [Edward George Richards] (b. Christchurch, Hampshire, 5 November 1895; d. Poole, Dorset, July-September 1974). Music critic (or writer of open letters). Married in 1936 to Elizabeth Whitworth Scott (1898-1972), designer of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford (1928-32), from whom she eventually divorced. Lived not far from Sorabji, at 3 St. George’s Terrace, Regent’s Park, London NW1, and later in Poole, Dorset. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicatee of the Third Symphony for Solo Piano (1959-60; 144 pp.). Author of an open letter about Sorabji published in The New English Weekly (28 January 1937).

Rimm, Robert [Robert Rimm]. American writer on music and owner of 88keys.com, a website specializing in music and languages. Author of the book The Composer-Pianists: Hamelin and the Eight (2002), which includes a chapter on Sorabji.

Roberge, Marc-André [Marc-André Roberge]. Canadian (Québec) musicologist and professor of nineteenth- and twentieth-century music history at the Faculty of Music of Laval University (Québec) since 1987; retired in September 2018. Author of Ferruccio Busoni: A Bio-Bibliography (1991) and of articles on Alkan, Busoni, Godowsky, Sorabji, and Stevenson. Produced twenty-eight critical editions of mostly short works by Sorabji (piano works, songs, works for chamber ensembles and small orchestras). Compiled annotated indexes to Around Music and Mi contra fa and an annotated bibliography of Sorabji’s writings in The New Age and The New English Weekly (among others). Contributor to Paul Rapoport’s Sorabji: A Critical Celebration. Author of Opus sorabjianum: The Life and Works of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (2013) and of the Sorabji Resource Site (2010). Revised Rapoport’s article on Sorabji for the Grove Music Online in 2014. On the less scholarly side: attends concerts and operas, watches concert and opera videos, and visits museums (as a keen amateur of Victorian and especially Pre-Raphaelite painting); finds relief from intense musicological activity by programming macros for Corel WordPerfect (several of which have been published on WordPerfect Universe and are listed on his own website).

Ross, George Alexander [George Alexander Ross] (b. Winnipeg, Manitoba, 19 August 1929; d. Spokane, Wash., 30 August 1998). Received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba in 1951, majoring in English literature and minoring in French. Worked as a pianist for the Whitworth College Chapel and taught piano privately. Began in the early 1990s to prepare for the Sorabji Archive an index of names mentioned in Sorabji’s published articles, essays, and letters other than those in Around Music and Mi contra fa. Assisted Alistair Hinton in the preparation of master copies of the large symphonic scores prior to their transfer to the Paul Sacher Stiftung. Presented broadcast programmes of Sorabji’s music in the United States.

Rovaart, M. C. van de [Marinus Cornelis van de Rovaart] (b. 1871; d. 1939). Dutch music critic and composer. Reviewed the score of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) for De Muziekbode in 1931. A list of his compositions used to be found on the website of the Nederlands Muziek Instituut.

Rowley, Alec [Alec Rowley] (b. London, 13 March 1892; d. London, 11 January 1958). English pianist and professor at the Royal Academy of Music. Wrote an article for Musical Opinion (1931) entitled “Give the Composer a Chance”, prompted by Sorabji’s article “Modern Composers and the Organ”. Published in The Musical Times (1932) a review of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.), of which Sorabji had sent him a copy [now at Trinity College of Music] with the following inscription: “For Mr. Alec Rowley - / greetings from / Kaikhosru Sorabji. / 30. XII.’XXXI”. Dedicated his Fantasie and Fugal Toccata for organ to Sorabji in 1936. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicatee of Fantasia ispanica (1933; 54 pp.).

Rubbra, Edmund [Edmund Rubbra] (orig. Edmund Duncan-Rubbra; b. Northampton, Northamptonshire, 23 May 1901; d. Gerrard’s Cross, 13 February 1986). English composer. Lecturer in music at Oxford University from 1947 onwards. Reviewed the score of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) for the Monthly Musical Record in 1932.

Rubin, Justin Henry [Justin Henry Rubin]. American pianist; chair of the music theory and composition programme at the University of Minnesota (Duluth). Gave the first performance of excerpts from the Sequentia cyclica super “Dies irae” ex Missa pro defunctis (1948-49; 335 pp.) on 8 April 1999 at the University of Minnesota.

Rumson, Gordon [Gordon Rumson]. Canadian pianist living in Calgary, Alberta. Gave the first performance of Frammenti aforistici (4) (1977; 1 p.).

Rutland, Harold [Harold Rutland] (b. London, 21 August 1900; d. London, 23 July 1977). English pianist and composer who worked in the Music Division of the BBC from 1941 to 1956. Editor of the Musical Times from 1957 to 1960. President of the John Ireland Society from 1960 until his death. Lifelong champion of Sorabji’s music. Gave the first performance of the Fragment Written for Harold Rutland (1926, 1928, 1937; 2 pp.) in London in 1927. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicatee (in addition to the 1927 version of the Fragment) of Un nido di scatole sopra il nome del grande e buon amico Harold Rutland (1954; 26 pp.) and the Fourth Symphony for Piano Alone (1962-64; 240 pp.).

Rycraft, Malcolm [Malcolm Rycraft]. English pianist, pupil of Yonty Solomon, and composer of rhythmic, keyboard-based, electronic music (rhythmology). Gave the first performance of Désir éperdu (Fragment) (1917; 1 p.) in London in 1990.

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Sánchez-Aguilera, Abel [Abel Sánchez-Aguilera]. Spanish pianist with a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and postdoctoral scientist at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (Madrid). Editor of the Tāntrik Symphony for Piano Alone (1938-39; 284 pp.) and Third Symphony for Piano Solo (1959-60; 144 pp.).

Saurat, Denis [Denis Saurat] (b. Toulouse, 21 March 1890; d. Nice, 7 June 1958). French writer on literature, philosophy, and religion. Coeditor (with Herbert Read) of Alfred Richard Orage, Selected Essays and Critical Writings (London: S. Nott, 1935). Member of the Institut français in London from 1924 to 1945, vice-president of the P.E.N. Club International during the period 1941-47, and professor of literature at King’s College (University of London). One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicatee of the Quintet II for Piano and String Quartet (1932-33; 432 pp.) and of Mi contra fa.

Scaife, Nigel Clifford [Nigel Scaife]. English musicologist, now syllabus director at the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). Author of an M.Mus. dissertation on Sorabji’s piano music (Royal College of Music, 1986) and of a Ph.D. dissertation on music criticism (University of Oxford, 1994) with a chapter on “The Sackbut Coterie”.

Scholes, Percy Alfred [Percy Scholes] (b. Leeds, Yorkshire, 24 July 1877; d. Vevey, Switzerland, 31 July 1958). English lexicographer and author of the celebrated Oxford Companion to Music (1st ed., 1938), in which he included an article on Sorabji, with particular emphasis on his date of birth. Received an angry letter from Sorabji, dated 22 February 1952, in which the composer expressed his indignation that Scholes had devoted more space to discussing his date of birth than to his works.

Scott, Francis George [Francis George Scott] (b. Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland, 25 January 1880; d. Glasgow, 6 November 1958). Scottish composer, best known for his songs, some of which were set to poems by Hugh MacDiarmid. Sorabji published an article about him (reprinted in Mi contra fa) in Scottish Arts & Letters in 1944. Scott’s daughter, Lillias (b. 1 December 1918; d. 2 October 2013), was the second wife of Erik Chisholm. Llater known as Lillias Scott Forbes, she was a poet; see Alian Riach, “Lillias Scott Forbes: An Appreciation”, The Herald, 23 January 2014.

Selver (Percy) Paul [Paul Selver] (b. 22 March 1888; d. Elstree, Hertfordshire, 9 April 1970). English writer and translator of Czech literature. Contributor to Alfred Richard Orage’s The New Age and author of a book of recollections of the New Age circle. Sorabji set to music his translation of a poem by Jovan Dučić. Published his autobiography under the pseudonym of Mark Grossek as First Movement: An Account of the Author’s Early Life (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1937).

Sitwell, Osbert [Osbert Sitwell] (b. London, 6 December 1892; d. Florence, 6 May 1969). English poet and editor; brother of the writers Edith and Sacheverell Sitwell. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works.

Sitwell, (Sir) Sacheverell [Sacheverell Sitwell] (b. Scarborough, Yorkshire, 15 November 1897; d. Towcester, Northamptonshire, 30 September 1988). English writer and younger brother of the writers Edith and Osbert Sitwell. Author of books on Bach, Mozart, Liszt, Offenbach, and Domenico Scarlatti, as well as of numerous collections of poetry and books on art, travel, and flowers. Friend of Sorabji since about 1918. Dedicatee of Rosario d’arabeschi (1956; 45 pp.), whose title inspired the collection of poems he published under the same title shortly after Sorabji wrote that work for him. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Slonimsky, Nicolas [Nicolas Slonimsky] (b. St. Petersburg, 27 April 1894; d. Los Angeles, 25 December 1995). Russian-born American lexicographer and editor of the fifth to eighth editions of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. First lexicographer to make the effort to determine Sorabji’s actual date of birth by researching official records. Joint dedicatee (with Frank Holliday and Norman P. Gentieu) of Paul Rapoport’s Sorabji: A Critical Celebration.

Smetryns, Thomas [Thomas Smetryns]. Belgian composer. Co-edited (with Lukas Huisman) Frammenti aforistici (Sutras) (104) (1962-64; 37 pp.) and Opus secretum atque necromanticum (1980-81; 48 pp.).

Smith, Ronald [Ronald Smith] (b. London, 3 January 1922; d. Saltwood, 24 May 2004). English pianist well known for his role in the Alkan revival. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Solomon, Neil [Neil Solomon] (1931-2015). Pupil of Lili Kraus. Was a piano lecturer at the South African College of Music. Some of Frank Holliday’s tapes of Sorabji playing his own music were recorded on his tape recorder at his London home in 1962. For an obituary and a photograph, see “Neil Solomon: Renowned Pianist, Composer and Teacher”, Sunday Times (South Africa), 1 February 2015.

Solomon, Yonty [Yonty Solomon] (b. Cape Town, South Africa, 6 May 1937; d. London, 27 September 2008). South African pianist living in London. Studied with Erik Chisholm between 1956 and 1959. Professor at the Royal College of Music (London). Received permission from Sorabji to play his works in public on 24 March 1976 and gave his first Sorabji recital on 7 December 1976. Gave several first performances of small- and medium-sized works by Sorabji. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987). Retrospective dedicatee of the Sonata III for Piano (1922; 75 pp.).

Spencer, Michael [Michael Spencer]. Scottish composer; lecturer in composition and critical musicology at the University of Leeds. Composer of Eemis Stane: Hommage [sic] to Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji.

Spencer-Bentley, Clive [Clive Spencer-Bentley]. English composer and schoolteacher. Dedicatee of the Passeggiata variata sul nome del caro e gentile giovane amico Clive Spencer-Bentley (1981; 3 pp.). One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Steininger, Florian [Florian Steininger]. German pianist specializing in the music of composers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Founder of the concert series “In modo esotico”, in which he gave the first performances of nos. 69 and 94 of the Études transcendantes (100) (1940-44; 456 pp.) and of the fifth movement of the Toccata quarta (1964-67; 149 pp.). Editor of the Frammenti aforistici (20) (1964; 9 pp.).

Stevens, Bernard [Bernard Stevens] (b. London, 2 March 1916; d. Halstead, Sussex, 2 January 1983). English composer and professor at the Royal College of Music. Sorabji seems to have liked his works. One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works.

Stevenson, Ronald [Ronald Stevenson] (b. Blackburn, Lancashire, 6 March 1928; d. West Linton, Scotland, 28 March 2015). Scottish composer, pianist, and writer. One of the foremost specialists in the music of Ferruccio Busoni. Composer of the massive Passacaglia on DSCH, which has similarities with Busoni’s Fantasia contrappuntistica and Sorabji’s Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.), to the latter of which he devoted a critical analysis published in the booklet accompanying John Ogdon’s recording. Organized with John Ogdon and Hugh MacDiarmid a symposium, part of which was published in Gambit: Edinburgh University Review (1965) and in Grieve’s The Company I’ve Kept (1966). Edited and performed the Fantasiettina sul nome illustre dell’egregio poeta Christopher Grieve ossia Hugh M’Diarmid (1961; 10 pp.). Dedicatee of Villa Tasca: Mezzogiorno siciliano—​Evocazione nostalgica e memoria tanta cara e preziosa del giardino meraviglioso, splendido, tropicale (1979-80; 47 pp.). One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Szymanowski, Karol [Karol Szymanowski] (b. Timoshovka, 6 October 1882; d. Lausanne, 29 March 1937). Polish composer. Sorabji made important references to him in his writings, including an essay in Mi contra fa. The Ministry of Culture of Poland awarded him a commemorative medal in 1982 (centenary of Szymanowski’s birth) in recognition of his championship.

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Thorpe Davie, Cedric [Cedric Thorpe Davie] (b. London, 30 May 1913; d. Kirkcudbright, Kirkcudbrightshire, 18 January 1983). Scottish composer and teacher. Accidentenly came into possession of a set of proofs for Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) around 1967.

Tikker, Timothy J. [Timothy J. Tikker]. American organist and composer; organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Charleston, South Carolina. Author of a Sequentia: Dies irae (Introduction and Passacaglia for Organ) partly inspired by Sorabji’s style.

Tobin, John Peter [John Tobin] (b. Liverpool, 25 March 1891; d. Weston-super-Mare, 6 October 1980). English Handel scholar and pianist living in Liverpool. Prepared an edition of Handel’s Messiah for the German publisher Bärenreiter (publ. 1968, 1981) and published Handel’s Messiah: A Critical Account of the Manuscript Sources and Printed Editions (London: Cassell, 1969). Performed the first part of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) in London in 1936, much to the composer’s displeasure, who published a disclaimer stating that he had only reluctantly consented to the performance and that it had been arranged without his knowledge. Brother of the music educationist J. Raymond Tobin (1886-1967).

Toussaint, Franz [Franz Toussaint] (b. 1879; d. 1955). French orientalist writer and translator of poetry from the Sanskrit, Chinese, and Persian, including Saʿdī, set to music by Sorabji as the Trois poèmes du “Gulistān” de Saʿdī (1926, rev. 1930; 16 pp.) Author of books on Jean Jaurès and Jean Giraudoux, who were among his friends. Also published Le jardin des fruits (Saâdi) (Paris: Mercure de France, 1925) and Sentences (Saâdi) (Ambialet: P. Laleure, 1984).

Trew, Charles A[braham] [Charles Abraham Trew] (b. [2 November?] 1855; d. Fulham, London, January-March 1929). English pianist, teacher, and composer. Taught at a small private music school called the London Organ School where Sorabji’s mother had apparently studied the organ as a girl. Also taught at the London College of Music. Sole teacher of Sorabji, who took lessons from him, probably from 1913 until some time after the summer of 1916, but clearly before 1918. Author of Harmony Lessons, Adapted for Classes (London: Schott, 1888) and The Elements of Music Simply Explained (Boston: The Boston Music Co.; New York: G. Schirmer, 1913). His compositions include La tendresse pour violoncelle et piano (London: J. Williams, c1902). A copy of his Concertstück for piano and orchestra (1912) can be downloaded from the Pianophilia website (registration required). His wife, Susan (née Codd; b. 1853, year of death unknown), was also a pianist and composer. A list of works by both Charles and Susan can be found on the Unsung Composers website (thread started on 21 September 2012).

Trotter, Thomas Andrew [Thomas Trotter]. English organist. Participated in a performance of the Symphony [no. 1] for Organ (1924; 81 pp.) in London in 1987, as part of the International Congress of Organists, he playing the second movement and Kevin Bowyer playing the outer ones.

U

Ullén, Fredrik [Fredrik Ullén]. Swedish pianist well known for his performances and recordings of Ligeti’s music. Recorded the Pastiche on the “Minute Waltz” by Chopin (1922; 7 pp.) and the Pasticcio capriccioso sopra l’op. 64, no 1 del Chopin (1933; 8 pp.) in 2000. Gave the first performance of many of the Études transcendantes (100) (1940-44; 456 pp.). His recording of the complete set appeared on seven discs on the BIS label between 2006 and 2020.

Usher, Dr. [Dr. Usher] (d. late 1920). Sorabji’s Latin tutor.

V

Vicars, Mervyn [Mervyn Vicars] (b. London, 14 December 1905; d. Swanage, Dorsetshire, 28 October 1991). English composer and cellist. Conductor of the New Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in the early 1950s. Wrote a work for piano and orchestra on themes from Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.). One of the twenty-three signatories of a letter presented to the composer in 1953 to encourage him to record some of his works. Dedicatee of the Symphony [no. 2], “Jāmī”, for Large Orchestra, Wordless Chorus, and Baritone Solo (1942-51; 826 pp.) and the Concertino non grosso for String Sextet with Piano obbligato quasi continuo (1968; 48 pp.); the latter work is also dedicated to three members of his family: his wife, Denise (née Allen; 1918-2013), and their sons, Adrian, and Kevin. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987). Denise often visited Sorabji and cared for him during his last years.

Vignani, Alberto [Alberto Vignani]. Italian software engineer. Author of the first completed and published edition of a major orchestral work by Sorabji, namely, the Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra (1935-37, 1953-56; 540 pp.). Also created sound files of that work and of sections from Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.).

Viñes, Ricardo [Ricardo Viñes] (b. Lérida, 5 February 1875; d. Barcelona, 29 April 1943). Spanish (Catalan) pianist and champion of modern piano music at the beginning of the century. The Free Library in Philadelphia owns copies inscribed to him by Sorabji of the Two Piano Pieces (1918, 1920; 20 pp.), the Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.), and the Sonata no. 1 for Piano (1919; 42 pp.).

Visser, Pieter [Pieter Visser]. Dutch musician. Prepared the parts for the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [no. 5] (1920; 144 pp.) for the first performance.

W

Walton, William [William Walton] (b. Oldham, 28 March 1902; d. Ischia, Italy, 8 March 1983). English composer. Sorabji gave him and Sacheverell Sitwell a private performance of the Sonata seconda for Piano (1920; 49 pp.) in November 1921.

Watson, Ian [Ian (John S.) Watson]. Scottish bookseller who, with Edward Gillespie Nairn, began trading business in Edinburgh in 1964 under the name of John Updike, Rare Books and Manuscripts. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Welsh, Henry [Henry Welsh] (dates unknown). Gifted clarinettist mentioned in Mi contra fa (pp. 102-3), known and often quoted as the author of “Orchestral Reform”, Music & Letters 12, no. 1 (January 1931): 21-29. Dedicatee of Études transcendantes (100) (1940-44; 456 pp.). Possibly the composer of Mother. Song. Words and music by H. J. Welsh (London: Escott & Co., 1918) [British Library H.3991.ww.(38)].

White, Felix Harold [Felix Harold White] (b. London, 27 April 1884; d. London, 31 January 1945). English composer, author of short biographical monographs on well-known composers and editor of the works of Scriabin. The Victoria Library (Westminster Music Library) has five scores of music by Sorabji coming from his collection. Known as a conscientious objector in World War I.

Williams, (Christopher à) Becket [Christopher à Becket Williams] (b. Dorchester, Dorsetshire, 2 July 1890; d. Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, 3 November 1956). English writer and composer, married to the pianist Aimée (Amy) Violet Evelyn Theyre (1886-1962; known as Violet Clarence). An early admirer of Sorabji, whom he met through the organist E. Emlyn Davies, he published an article on the Sonata no. 1 for Piano (1919; 42 pp.) in The Musical Standard in 1921 and one on his music in general in The Sackbut in 1924. Contributed a column to the British periodical Musical Opinion between 1923 and 1930 under the pseudonym “Sinjon Wood”. Dedicatee of the Pastiche on the Hindu Merchant’s Song from “Sadko” by Rimsky-Korsakov (1922; 4 pp.) and Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.).

Winstanley, Harry [Harry Winstanley] (b. Edinburgh, 26 March 1931; d. Penicuik, Midlothian, 7 January 2014). Scottish civil servant. President of the Godowsky Society, of which he invited Sorabji to become a patron. One of the twenty-six signatories of the second presentation letter (1987).

Wolfson, David [David Wolfson]. American composer, music director, arranger, pianist, and copyist living in New York City. Prepared an edition of the Trois poèmes du “Gulistān” de Saʿdī (1926, rev. 1930; 16 pp.) in 1991.

Woodhouse, George [George Woodhouse] (b. 1877; d. 1954). English musician and writer; pupil of Theodor Leschetizky (see his article “How Leschetizky Taught”, Music and Letters 35, no. 3 [July 1954]: 220-26. Received from Sorabji copies of the Sonata seconda for Piano (1920; 49 pp.) (“To George Woodhouse Esq. With the Composer’s Compliments: 25.2.24”) and the Prelude, Interlude, and Fugue for Piano (1920, 1922; 17 pp.) (“George Woodhouse Esq. With the composer’s best wishes. Jan. MCMXXV”), both in the Victoria Library (Westminster Music Library). Author of several books on the piano, including The Artist at the Piano (London: Novello, [1910]) and Creative Technique for Artists in General and Pianists in Particular (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1921). Sorabji felt that his friend Bernard Bromage could improve his piano playing by studying with someone like Woodhouse.

X

Y

Younger, Richard [Richard Younger]. English self-taught musician who writes for the piano; works in the library of the National Gallery (London). Author of editions of the Fragment: Prelude and Fugue on FxAxx DAxEx (1926; 3 pp.) and the Toccata [no. 1] for Piano (1928; 66 pp.); co-edited (with Alexander Abercrombie, François Fabre, and Jonathan Powell) the Concerto da suonare da me solo e senza orchestra, per divertirmi (1946; 70 pp.).

Z

Sorabji and His Parents

Sorabji, Kaikhosru Shapurji [Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji] (birth originally registered as Leon Dudley Sorabji; b. Chingford, Essex, 14 August 1892; d. Winfrith Newburgh, near Dorchester, Dorset; 15 October 1988). English composer, pianist, critic, and writer. Only son of of Shapurji Sorabji, a Parsi civil engineer from Bombay, and Madeline Matilda Worthy, an Englishwoman from London. For a fuller short biography, see the section “Sorabji’s Life in One Paragraph” in the Preface to Opus sorabjianum: The Life and Works of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji.

Sorabji, Shapurji [Shapurji Sorabji] (b. Bombay, 18 August 1863 [according to his passport]; d. Bad-Nauheim, near Frankfurt am Main, 7 July 1932; name at birth: Shapurji Hormusji Shroff). Eldest son of Shapurjee Cooverjee’s daughter; adopted by his grandfather Shapurjee Cooverjee. Parsi civil engineer trading as Messrs. Sorabjee Shapurjee and Co., Bombay, and Messrs. Sorabjee Shapurjee and Ratanshaw, London, known to have played an important part in the development of the engineering and cotton machinery industries in India. Father of the composer.

Worthy, Madeline Matilda [Madeline Matilda Worthy] (b. Camberwell, Surrey, 13 August 1866; d. Bournemouth, Hampshire, 5 May 1959). Daughter of Francis John Worthy and Sarah Matilda Wood. Wife of Shapurji Sorabji, whom she married on 18 February 1892, and mother of the composer. Lived in Swanage and Bournemouth while the composer was in Corfe Castle. Dedicatee of five works.

Sorabji’s Relatives on his Mother’s Side

Wood, Sarah Matilda [Sarah Matilda Wood] (b. Whimple, Devon, 1833; d. London, 19 May 1915). Daughter of John Wood, tailor. Married Francis John Worthy on 3 August 1856. Mother of Madeline Matilda Worthy, the composer’s mother.

Worthy, Blanche Winifred [Blanche Winifred Worthy] (b. St. Olave, Southwark, 6 March 1875; d. 1944). Eighth child of Francis John Worthy and Sarah Matilda Wood; sister of Madeline Matilda Worthy, the composer’s mother. Was married to Ernest Dieckmann.

Worthy, Colin Manly [Colin Manly Worthy] (b. Hull, 17 September 1860; d. 12 March 1937). First child of Francis John Worthy and Sarah Matilda Wood; brother of Madeline Matilda Worthy, the composer’s mother.

Worthy, Frances Caroline [Frances Caroline Worthy] (b. Whitechapel, 5 September 1862; d. ca. 1955). Second child of Francis John Worthy and Sarah Matilda Wood; sister of Madeline Matilda Worthy, the composer’s mother.

Worthy, Francis John [Francis John Worthy] (b. ca. 1822; d. London, 25 July 1879). Married Sarah Matilda Wood on 3 August 1856. Father of Madeline Matilda Worthy, the composer’s mother. Worked as a messenger for the Admiralty.

Worthy, Frank Geoffrey [Frank Geoffrey Worthy] (b. City of London, 30 May 1873; d. Surrey, 1961?). Seventh child of Francis John Worthy and Sarah Matilda Wood; brother of Madeline Matilda Worthy, the composer’s mother.

Worthy, John Ethelbert (Edward?) [John Ethelbert Worthy (Edward?)] (b. Camberwell, 14 June 1864; d. Camberwell, 1899?). Third child of Francis John Worthy and Sarah Matilda Wood; brother of Madeline Matilda Worthy, the composer’s mother.

Worthy, Leon Adonis [Leon Adonis Worthy] (b. Newington, 21 July 1869; d. 3 March 1942). Fifth child of Francis John Worthy and Sarah Matilda Wood; brother of Madeline Matilda Worthy, the composer’s mother.

Worthy, Lionel Claude [Lionel Claude Worthy] (b. St. Saviour, 22 March 1871; d. London, 7 October 1955). Sixth child of Francis John Worthy and Sarah Matilda Wood; brother of Madeline Matilda Worthy, the composer’s mother.

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