Archival Audio and Video Recordings

Collection of the British Library

Shelfmark	Link	Contents	Comments
Shelfmark	Link	Contents	Comments
1CD0047915•	Explore	“Talking About Music 417: Sorabji”	Broadcast on 3 August 1992 of an interview recorded in December 1989 between host John Amis, Yonty Solomon, and Alistair Hinton. A note reads “Issued 1992, week 32”.
1LL0004366•	Explore	“Gulistān”—​Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.) Concerto da suonare da me solo e senza orchestra, per divertirmi (1946; 70 pp.), third movement.	Performed by Sorabji. Not identified as a copy of a recording on cellulose nitrate on aluminium made by Frank Holliday on a disc pressed by Sound News. Dubbed on 16 July 2014. Other copy as 30B/1258.
1LS0001370•	Explore	Concerto da suonare da me solo e senza orchestra, per divertirmi (1946; 70 pp.), first and second movements [30:57]	Performed by Sorabji. Not identified as a copy of a recording on cellulose nitrate on aluminium made by Frank Holliday on a disc pressed by Sound News. Other copies as 25A/538 and M7341.
1LS0001371•	Explore, Explore	“Quaere reliqua hujus materiei inter secretiora” (1940; 16 pp.) [13:13] St. Bertrand de Comminges: “He was laughing in the tower” (1941; 16 pp.) [13:07]	Performed by Sorabji. Not identified as a copy of a recording made by Frank Holliday on a disc pressed by Sound News. Also referred to as M7341 (first work, second work).
1LS0001372•	Explore	Excerpt from Francis M. Guercio’s Sicily, the Garden of the Mediterranean: The Country and Its People [2:04] Sorabji’s “Some Sacro-Sanct Modern Superstitions” [6:19]	Readings by Sorabji. Not identified as a copy of a recording on cellulose nitrate on aluminium made by Frank Holliday on a disc produced by Sound News. Described as “four acetate discs including the three discs in this sequence and confirmation of being dubbed on M-size tape”. Dubbed on 17 December 2017. Also referred to as 17A/541 and M7341.
B1895/2	Explore	St. Bertrand de Comminges: “He was laughing in the tower” (1941; 16 pp.)	The citation gives only the content of the entire programme: “Yonty Solomon performs: Liszt [Two Legends].- Sorabji.- Scriabin [Sonatas nos. 7 and 9]”. The date of 10 June 1987 suggests that it was the work in question. Total duration: 1:08:31. A note reads “Abrupt end”. See entry H774/3 and Genome.
C1398/1708•	Explore	“Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji interview” [19:50]	Broadcast on 30 December 1979 of an interview about Nicolas Medtner between host Michael Oliver between Sorabji, Ronald Stevenson, and Alistair Hinton.
C1482/175	Explore	Trois fêtes galantes de Verlaine (ca. 1919; 11 pp.) [8:15] Trois poèmes pour chant et piano (1918, 1919; 9 pp.) [not given] “Gulistān”—​Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.) [19:18]	Broadcast on 3 June 1979 of a performance by Yonty Solomon (copy from the Robin Craig Collection). See also T2270. See Genome.
C1482/176	Explore	Sonata no. 1 for Piano (1919; 42 pp.) [27:01]	Broadcast on 14 August 1984 of a performance by Yonty Solomon (copy from the Robin Craig Collection). Also referred to as NP8358. See Genome.
C1482/198	Explore	Sonata III for Piano (1922; 75 pp.) [01:37:15]	Broadcast on 14 August 1987 of a performance by Yonty Solomon. Also referred to as B2364/1 (duration given as 01:41:12). A note reads “Missing end of broadcast”. See Genome.
C1690/51•	Explore	“Aquarius. The Sorabji legend; excerpt” [28:55]	London Weekend Television’s programme shown on 11 June 1977, with host Russell Harty interviewing Sorabji, Felix Aprahamian, Alistair Hinton (not mentioned in the citation), Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, and Yonty Solomon. The citation reports that the tape, of variable quality, begins and ends abruptly, with about 15 minutes missing and several abrupt breaks, including one for advertisements. Marked as coming from the “Mrs. Janet Wilkinson tapes”. Mrs. Wilkinson may be the person described as a singer and the secretary of the Rochester and North Kent Music and Drama Festival in Clare Freeman, “The Rochester and North Kent Music and Drama Festival looking for musicians, singers and actors for festival”, KentOnline, 26 January 2015. See the entry on IMBd (Internet Movie Database).
H774/3	Explore	St. Bertrand de Comminges: “He was laughing in the tower” (1941; 16 pp.)	Repeat broadcast on 15 October 1992 of a recital by Yonty Solomon on 10 June 1987 as “Sacred and Profane”. The citation states that the total duration is 42:14 and that the second extract begins at 21:36. See Genome and entry B1895/2.
M8266BW•	Explore	“Music Weekly: K.S. Sorabji talks to Ronald Stevenson, Michael Oliver and Alistair Hinton about his memories of Nicholas Medtner” [22:57, not mentioned in the catalogue]	Broadcast on 2 January 1980 of a programme with host Michael Oliver interviewing Sorabji, Alistair Hinton, and Ronald Stevenson. See Genome.
T1734	Explore	Le jardin parfumé—​Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.) Two Piano Pieces (1918, 1920; 20 pp.) Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.)	Broadcast on 7 November 1977 of a performance by Yonty Solomon (with introduction by Solomon). See Genome.

Formal Readings

“Artistic Creed” and “Yoga and the Composer” (1962)

On 22 February 1962 Erik Chisholm recorded Sorabji reading his so-called artistic creed (most likely the text beginning with “I am not a ‘modern’ composer”) and the chapter ‘Yoga and the Composer’ from Mi contra fa. The monophonic tape was made on a Grundig tape recorder at Neil Solomon’s home in London. Its whereabouts are unknown, and the tape is probably lost.

“Some Sacro-Sanct Modern Superstitions (with Comments)” (1962)•

On 6 May 1962 Frank Holliday, using a monophonic Ferrograph tape recorder, recorded Sorabji at his home in Corfe Castle giving a six-minute reading of “Some Sacro-Sanct Modern Superstitions (with Comments)”, a series of ten short paragraphs on various non-musical topics.

The recording can be found at the Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Collection in box 10, audio reel #7, forward track (also found on reel #7, return track, and reel #47). The text is published in Paul Rapoport, “Sorabji’s Other Writings”, in SCC, 327-30.

“Sicily, the Garden of the Mediterranean” (1962)•

On 6 May 1962 Frank Holliday, using a monophonic Ferrograph tape recorder, recorded Sorabji at his home in Corfe Castle giving a two-minute reading from Francis M. Guercio, Sicily, the Garden of the Mediterranean: The Country and Its People (London: Faber and Faber, 1938; 2nd ed., 1954; new and revised ed., 1968). Sorabji chose two excerpts from the book’s “Conclusion” (pagination from the 1968 edition):

• “The greatness of Sicily” to “rather than to the individual”, 293-94.
• “‘A common expression,’” to “to the utter detriment of self as well as of others”, 294-95.

The recording can be found in the Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Collection in box 10, audio reels #7 (return track) and #11 (forward track). The reading is also part of Donald Garvelmann’s WNCN radio programme broadcast in 1970.

Interviews

Harold Rutland (“Music Now”, 3 December 1976)

On 3 December 1976 the BBC’s Radio 3 broadcast a conversation on Sorabji’s music between the music critic John Amis (1922-2013) and Sorabji’s friend and dedicatee Harold Rutland as part of its “Music Now” programme. See Genome and the listing in Radio Times, no. 2768 (25 November 1976): 65.

A recording is available in the Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Collection, box 10, audio reel #11 (return track).

London Weekend Television “Aquarius” Programme (11 June 1977)•

Sorabji took part in the “Aquarius” programme of London Weekend Television programme on 1 March 1977, which was broadcast on 11 June. The 40-minute programme produced by Derek Bailey (1934-2019) and hosted by Russell Harty (1934-88) featured the recollections of four people who knew Sorabji or were familiar with his music (in order of appearance):

• The music critic Felix Aprahamian (1914-2005) recalled the London performance of pars prima from Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) by John Tobin.
• The composer Alistair Hinton recalled his discovery of Sorabji’s music and his meeting with him as well as his advocacy of Yonty Solomon.
• Sorabji described his character and his desire for privacy about dates and places.
• The pianist Yonty Solomon (1937-2008) spoke about the difficulty of playing Sorabji’s music (with specific examples at the piano).
• Sorabji recalled his years of apprenticeship and his lack of interest in the performance of his works.
• The writer Sir Sacheverell Sitwell (1897-1988) recalled his friendship with Sorabji in the 1920s and expressed his admiration for his aloofness and his desire for reclusiveness.

The programme featured Solomon playing the following excerpts:

• Opening of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.)
• Short excerpt from the Sonata III for Piano (1922; 75 pp.)
• End of the Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.)
• Beginning of Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.)
• Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.) up to p. 11/1/1
• Excerpt from Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.)
• “In the Hothouse” from the Two Piano Pieces (1918, 1920; 20 pp.)
• Page 3 from the Sonata III for Piano (1922; 75 pp.)

Sorabji insisted that the interview be conducted against stills taken during the recording. At the end, he allowed the crew to film while the host bade him farewell. This is the only known piece of film in which he can be seen, the filmed interview on Francis George Scot having probably been discarded (see the relevant section).

Jim Penn (who worked for a time at Granada Media, the owners of London Weekend Television) and Alistair Hinton contributed reminiscences of the programme on Sorabji discussion group on the Yahoo! (topics 752 and 761; no longer available since these groups were closed in December 2020 and the postings removed from the servers). Penn believes that the material still exists.

A camera script bearing no. P/N: 11024 (25 pp., plus [at least] 8 unnumbered pages exists. It is entitled “Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (Born 1892). Script from London Weekend Television programme ‘Aquarius’.” A recording (audio only) is in the Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Collection at McMaster University (box 13, audio reel #52; cassette copy of previous item in box 14).

Francis George Scott (BBC Scotland, 27 June 1979)

On 27 June 1979 Sorabji participated with Ronald Stevenson and Alistair Hinton in an interview filmed for BBC Scotland at home in Corfe Castle to mark the centenary of the birth of his friend Francis George Scott (1880-1958). It appears that the footage was discarded and there is a possibility that the programme was never broadcast.

A transcript identified as “Francis George Scott, 14767/2995. Location: Corfe Castle Dorset. Date: 27.6.79”, tapes 6 (pp. 1-11), 7 (pp. 1-5), exists. Sorabji wrote an unused (and unpublished) one-page text for this programme entitled “Francis George Scott”; a carbon copy of this text is in the Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Collection in box 8, folder 4.

Nicolas Medtner (“Music Weekly”, 2 January 1980)•

Sorabji participated with Ronald Stevenson and Alistair Hinton in a Radio 3 centenary interview on Nicolas Medtner, recorded on 30 December 1979, for the programme “Music Weekly”, hosted by Michael Oliver (1937-2002) from 1975 to 1990. See the Genome entry and the listing in Radio Times, no. 2928 (20 December 1979): 72.

Yonty Solomon and Alistair Hinton (“Talking About Music 417: Sorabji”, 3 August 1992)•

John Amis (1922-2013) interviewed Yonty Solomon and Alistair Hinton in a Radio 3 programme recorded in December 1989. Amis conducted over 500 interviews for his programme “Talking About Music”. No entry on Genome.

Jonathan Powell (“Music Matters”, 6 May 2017)

On 6 May 2017 the writer, critic, and broadcaster Tom Service interviewed Jonathan Powell about Sorabji, Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.), and the Sequentia cyclica super “Dies irae” ex Missa pro defunctis (1948-49; 335 pp.) on the 45-minute Radio 3 “Music Matters” programme. See Music Matters: Ravi Shankar's Sukanya, Jan Vogler, (duration: 8:18; from 35:28 to the end). Available without geographical limitation.

Private Recordings by Erik Chisholm and Frank Holliday•

Sorabji made two sets of private recordings of some of his musical works. The first one was made by Erik Chisholm at Neil Solomon’s London home on 22 and 27 February 1962, while the second one, a much more ambitious project, was recorded by Frank Holliday at the composer’s home in Corfe Castle in six sessions held between 1962 and 1968. A list of the contents of these recordings can be found in SCC, 480-81 (Appendix 2: The Recordings of Sorabji’s Music).

While the Chisholm recordings do not appear to have survived, the Holliday ones can be found in the Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Collection:

• box 10, audio reels #4, 7-11, 18, 19
• box 11, audio reels #20-25, 28-29
• box 12, audio reels #33-39
• box 14, cassette copies of all the Holliday tapes and other recordings

Copies of a few of these recordings are now in the British Library’s collection.

Radio and Television Programmes

“The Composer Sorabji” (1969)

On 8 December 1969 the New York radio station WBAI broadcast a programme on Sorabji, the text of which was privately printed as The Composer Sorabji: A Talk by Dr. Erik Chisholm with musical excerpts, Introduced by Frank Holliday (8 pp., recorded on a tape playing at 7 1/2″ per second). The programme was rebroadcast on 13 December 1969, and later expanded into a much larger programme, as detailed below.

The musical excerpts from Sorabji’s own performances recorded by Frank Holliday, as indicated in the transcript, are:

• Nocturne, “Jāmī” (1928; 28 pp.); approx. 35 seconds.
• Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.); approx. 4 minutes.
• Fourth Symphony for Piano Alone (1962-64; 240 pp.): “Chorale Prelude”; approx. 5 minutes.
• Second Symphony for Piano (1954; 248 pp.): approx. 4 minutes from the first movement.
• Passeggiata veneziana sopra la Barcarola di Offenbach (1955-56; 24 pp.): approx. 35 seconds from the beginning and 3 3/4 minutes from the “Notturnino”.
• Nocturne, “Jāmī” (1928; 28 pp.); approx. 1 1/2 minutes from the end.

“A three-hour special on the legendary twentieth-century composer, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, one of the mystery composers of the century” (1970)

Original broadcast: On 13 December 1970 the New York radio station WNCN (A Division of the National Science Network, Inc.) broadcast from 12:05 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. a programme coordinated by David Dubal, produced by Peter Lieberson, and hosted by Donald M. Garvelmann, consisting of the talk “The Composer Sorabji” and additional material. It was rebroadcast several times, as shown below.

Duration: Despite its advertised three-hour running time, the programme (or at least the Sorabji-related content, minus the announcer’s words) lasted 2:26:41 (2:20:40 in the version archived on the internet; see the section “Recording” below).

Rebroadcasts (from SCC, 435-37)

• 1971-12-12: WNCN (New York).
• 1972-12-10: WNCN (New York).
• 1973-11-08: KPFA (Berkeley, California); this is the version that has been archived on the internet.
• 1975-02-19: WMUK (Kalamazoo, Michigan).
• 1976-06-19: Minnesota Public Radio; also broadcast over KSJR (Collegeville), KSJN.
• (St. Paul/Minneapolis), KCCM (Moorhead, Minn./Fargo, North Dakota), WSCD (Duluth, Minnesota), KRSW (Worthington, Minnesota), and KSLE (Rochester, Minnesota/Decorah, Iowa).

Promotional material: Various documents were produced and/or published to promote the programme and highlight the response it had generated.

• Transcript (in a typewriter font) of Garvelmann’s text, entitled A three-hour special on the legendary twentieth-century composer, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, one of the mystery composers of the century (12 pp.). This brochure features on the back cover Norman Peterkin’s photograph of Sorabji at his piano in 1966 published in Garvelmann’s compilation Thirteen Transcriptions for Piano Solo of Chopin’s Waltz in D Flat, Op. 64, No. 1 (The Minute Waltz).
• Printed version of the above, dated 1970 (7 pp., without the portrait of Sorabji at the piano).
• Advertising booklet, with a cover page in a typewriter font, entitled Three-hour special program / About: / The legendary twentieth-century composer / Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji / one of the mystery composers of the century. Including: / A talk about the composer written by the late Dr. Erik Chisholm, read by Mr. Frank Holliday, with several musical performances by the composer himself. Musical works featured include: / Gulistan—The Rose Garden / and / Concerto per suonare da me solo. Includes photographs of Sorabji (seated on the slopes of Corfe Castle in about 1934, by Norman Peterkin, but not the same as that reproduced in SCC, 74), Garvelmann, and Frank Holliday (standing in a harbour in front of a small boat), as well as Garvelmann’s essay “The Great Sorabji Mystique”.
• Document (3 pp. plus cover page) entitled The Composer Sorabji (Postscript), containing Garvelmann’s text “The Great Sorabji Mystique” (1 p.) and “A Selection of the written responses to WNCN’s Special Program about Sorabji” (2 pp.). The thirty-eight responses (to the original 1969 programme) are not credited.
• Program Guide: Concert Listings, Program Listings, Record Reviews (WNCN, December 1970), with a portrait of Sorabji (from the Oxford University Press brochure, with the left hand on his cheek) on the cover, and with the photographs of Garvelmann and Frank Holliday described above and the former’s essay “The Great Sorabji Mystique”.

Items added to the 1969 programme: The 1970 programme adds the following recordings to those found in the 1969 programme.

• “Gulistān”—​Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.); duration: 22:15.
• “An Assessment of the Sicilian Temperament” (see above); duration: 3 minutes.
• Concerto da suonare da me solo e senza orchestra, per divertirmi (1946; 70 pp.); duration: 46:12.

Recording: A recording of the entire programme (approximately 140 minutes), as broadcast by KPFA-FM (94.1, Berkeley, California), can be heard in streaming format on the Internet Archive as “The Piano Music of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (November 8, 1973)”. At the time of the broadcast, the music director of the KPFA station was the composer Charles Amirkhanian. It is also available on radiOM, which is a part of Other Minds, a non-profit organization (founded by Amirkhanian to promote and disseminate contemporary music) to which KPFA’s extensive collection of tapes has been tranferred.

Contents: The following table lists, segment by segment, the contents of the programme, which consists of two files (56:25, 1:23:59): one for the part read by Frank Holliday (identified by 01-xx), the other for the part read by Donald Garvelmann (02-xx). These numbers are editorial.

Segment	Time	Contents
Segment	Time	Contents
01-01	00:00:00	Introduction to the programme by Donald Garvelmann: “It occurs to me that, im most instances, history has dealt switfly with the mediocre, casting its unwanted, blemished stepchildren into oblivion.” The original WNCN programme begins with an excerpt from Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony as musical theme, followed by a presentation by announcer Joe Marzano.
01-02	00:03:22	Beginning of Nocturne, “Jāmī” (1928; 28 pp.). Rec. 26 March 1965.
01-03	00:03:59	The introduction to Erik Chisholm’s talk by Frank Holliday begins: “Many eminent musicians feel that the composer Sorabji, who is still—very much—alive should, by rights, be well-known in musical circles today and to the musical public.”
01-04	00:06:11	Erik Chisholm’s talk, read by Frank Holiday, begins: “Surely there never was a time in the world’s history when more music was heard than today!”
01-05	00:19:36	Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.). Rec. 26 March 1965; up to the double barline on p. 5/2 of Jonathan Powell’s edition.
01-06	00:23:13	The talk continues: “I will remember Sir Donald Tovey in the music classroom at Edinburgh University showing the full score of Sorabji’s second piano concerto (dedicated to Cortot) to the German composer Paul Hindemith who was guest violinist with the Edinburgh Reid Orchestra.”
01-07	00:29:58	End of the “Chorale Prelude” from the Fourth Symphony for Piano Alone (1962-64; 240 pp.). Rec. 25 September 1964; from p. 91/4 (at “Tranquillo sempre”) to p. 96/3 in Alexander Abercrombie’s edition. Holliday inserts the following: “(I must break in here on Dr. Chisholm’s talk to say that the composer did not record any of Opus Clavicembalisticum, so I play here instead the end part of the chorale prelude from the Fourth Piano Symphony, a much later work completed in early 1964.)”
01-08	00:35:15	The talk continues: “Here is what Sorabji has to say about his own music: ‘I am not a “modern composer” in the inverted commas sense of the word.’”
01-10	00:42:51	Second Symphony for Piano (1954; 248 pp.), opening of first movement. Rec. 5 October 1962; pp. 1-5/2/1; motive no. 24.
01-11	00:47:12	The talk continues: “Not all Sorabji’s works are long and serious, although the majority are.”
01-12	00:48:43	Passeggiata veneziana sopra la Barcarola di Offenbach (1955-56; 24 pp.): “Barcarola”. Rec. 10 September 1963; up to the end of the first system in Jonathan Powell’s edition.
01-13	00:49:36	Brief transition: “And this is the nocturne.”
01-14	00:49:39	Passeggiata veneziana sopra la Barcarola di Offenbach (1955-56; 24 pp.): “Notturnino”. Rec. 10 September 1963.
01-15	00:53:30	The talk concludes: “This programme has, I trust, introduced to listeners a new and exciting musical personality.” The first file ends at 56:25 with “We’ll continue after a station break.”
01-16		End of Nocturne, “Jāmī” (1928; 28 pp.), from the “Lasciar vibrare” on p. 26/1 of Jonathan Powell’s edition. Rec. 26 March 1965. This does not appear in the recording outlined here).
02-01	00:00:00	Continuation of the programme by Donald Garvelmann: “Perhaps you’ve been wondering what my particular connection with Sorabji might be.”
01-16	00:05:32	“Gulistān”—​Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.). Rec. 5 May 1962; skips p. 23/2/nonuplet to the end of p. 23/3/1 of Jonathan Powell’s edition.
01-17	00:27:27	The talk continues: “You have just heard a work for piano solo, GULISTAN—THE ROSE GARDEN, performed by the composer, Kaikhosru Sorabji. I should mention a bit more about Sorabji as writer.”
02-01	00:31:29	Sorabji reads “An Assessment of the Sicilian Temperament” from Francis M. Guercio Sicily, the Garden of the Mediterranean: The Country and Its People. Rec. 6 May 1962.
02-02	00:33:08	The talk continues: “That was Kaikhosru Sorabji reading ‘An Assessment of the Sicilian Temperament’, an extract from Guercio’s book, SICILY, GARDEN OF THE MEDITERRANEAN.”
02-03	00:37:32	Concerto da suonare da me solo e senza orchestra, per divertirmi (1946; 70 pp.). Rec. 5 May 1962; durations of the three movements: 15:07, 14:27, 16:38 = 46:12.
02-04	01:23:32	The talk concludes: “We have just heard one of Sorabji’s major piano works, the CONCERTO PER SUONARE DA ME SOLO, performed by the composer himself.” Ends with “Thank you for listening.” The WNCN version of the programme continues with two paragraphs reproduced in the 1970 transcript. Garvelmann says that he is interested in comments and reactions, and asks people to let him know if they would like to hear more of the private recordings. He then thanks Frank Holliday, Norman Peterkin, Gregor Benko (of the International Piano Library), Norman Gentieu, David Dubal (programme coordinator for WNCN), and Joyce Feigenbaum (staff member at WNCN), as well as Sorabji himself “for allowing us this rare privilege of hearing his beautiful music”. The original WNCN programme concludes with a sign-off by announcer Joe Marzano.

“Concert Grande” (1983, 1987)

“Concert Grande” was a radio programme hosted by Joe Patrych (1955-2023) and Bruce Posner on WFUV (New York) between 1977 and 1993. Seven programmes were devoted entirely (six) or partly (one) to Sorabji, with interviews and recorded performances.

1 August 1983; 59:36. Performances of Two Piano Pieces (1918, 1920; 20 pp.), Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.), and Three Pastiches for Piano (1922; 17 pp.) by Michael Habermann.

8 August 1983; 55:46. Interview with Michael Habermann, followed by his performances of Nocturne, “Jāmī” (1928; 28 pp.) and Prelude, Interlude, and Fugue for Piano (1920, 1922; 17 pp.).

15 August 1983; 1:00:06. Interviews with Michael Habermann and Geoffrey Douglas Madge, with sections 1 and 2 of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) played by Habermann.

22 August 1983; 59:26. Interview with Geoffrey Douglas Madge, with the “Passacaglia” from Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) played by Madge.

29 August 1983; 59:01. Interview with Geoffrey Douglas Madge, with the “Fuga IV” and “Coda-Stretta” from Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) played by Madge.

4 August 1987; 23:25. Interview with Charles Hopkins about his experiences with the music of Godowsky and Sorabji (in this case starting 16:34).

14 March 1989 (Sorabji Memorial II); 53:33. Performance of the first and second movements from Symphony [no. 1] for Organ (1924; 81 pp.) played by Kevin Bowyer.

Michael Habermann (“Concert Grande”, 8 August 1983)

The South Bank Show: John Ogdon (1989)

John Ogdon can be seen playing excerpts from Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) on London Weekend Television’s South Bank Show broadcast on 19 March 1989. A partial list of credits and interviewees used to be found on the British Film Institute’s website. The two-part programme (52:06; part 2 starting at 28:40) was posted by Brenda Ogdon on YouTube (9 July 2015). We hear John Ogdon talking about the composer and his work, and play vars. 31 and 34 (33:20-33:59), then from p. 249/2 to the end of the score (36:13-38:04). A DVD is also available from the John Ogdon Foundation for GBP 12.

On 24 September 1989 the BBC’s Radio 3 presented a two-hour tribute to the pianist who had died on 1 August. It included an interview with Ronald Stevenson and Ogdon playing of “Cadenza I” from his Altarus recording.

“A Sorabji Centenary” (1992)

On 14 August 1992 Alistair Hinton presented a programme on BBC Radio 3 featuring Marc-André Hamelin’s Altarus recording of the Sonata no. 1 for Piano (1919; 42 pp.). See Genome.

Computer Realizations

Paul Rapoport

Between September 1974 and April 1975, Paul Rapoport worked at the University of Illinois on a computer realization of excerpts from Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) using an IBM 360/75 computer with the “Music 360” music composition software by Barrie Vercoe of the Massachussets Institute of Technology. The recording lasts nearly 41 minutes and includes the following pages from the published score:

• 5-7 (“Introito”)
• 19-30 (“Fuga I”)
• 147-53 (“Adagio” from “Interludium alterum”)
• 153-54 (“Passacaglia”, vars. 1-5)
• 157-59 (“Passacaglia”, vars. 13-15)
• 175-77 (“Passacaglia”, vars. 53-54)
• 250-52 (end of “Coda-Stretta”; version 1)
• 250-52 (end of “Coda-Stretta”; version 2)

A recording can be found in the Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Collection, box 13, audio reel #51. The history of this realization is documented in Paul Rapoport, “Sorabji and the Computer”, Tempo, no. 117 (June 1976): 23-26.

David Carter and Alberto Vignani

Sound files for works by Sorabji (or of parts of them) have been created by Alberto Vignani (currently not available on the internet) and David Carter. The works set by Carter (not necessarily of the entire scores) can be found on his YouTube channel.

• Second Symphony for Organ (1929-32; 350 pp.); playlist.
• Toccata seconda per pianoforte (1933-34; 111 pp.); playlist.
• Symphony [no. 2], “Jāmī”, for Large Orchestra, Wordless Chorus, and Baritone Solo (1942-51; 826 pp.); playlist.
• Sequentia cyclica super “Dies irae” ex Missa pro defunctis (1948-49; 335 pp.); playlist.
• Messa grande sinfonica (1955-61; 1,001 pp.); playlist.

The many editors (like myself) who have used notation software to prepare their editions obviously have such sound files in their private archives. They may or may not have been fine-tuned to produce acceptable performances, having been used primarily as a means to an end.

Performances

Kevin Bowyer

Kevin Bowyer’s performance of the Symphony [no. 1] for Organ (1924; 81 pp.), given on 24 April 1988 at the Aarhus Cathedral, became available on 25 January 2012 as part of The International Historical Organ Recording Collection (IHORC-29). It is no longer online, and all that remains is a text by Lars Rosenlund, “Kevin Bowyer playing K. S. Sorabji - Organ Symphony No. 1”.

YouTube videos relating to Kevin Bowyer’s performance of the Second Symphony for Organ (1929-32; 350 pp.) on the occasion of the inauguration of the Klais organ at the University of Iowa, Clapp Voxman School of Music, on 10 February 2017.

• “Kevin Bowyer plays Sorabji at The University of Iowa”, 3 February 2017, posted by “University of Iowa”.
• “Sorabji’s Second Organ Symphony (Conclusion)”, 12 February 2017, posted by “TheEyeOfCorfe”.
• “SORABJI in Iowa: GOLDrush” (request for financial support for the making of a documentary by Oleg Timofeyev), 27 February 2017, posted by “GOLDrush”; published as “Sorabji in Iowa: A documentary”, which is the crowdfunding page. The film (duration: 35:25) directed by Sabine Gölz and produced by Oleg Timofeyev was an official selection of the Interrobang Film Festival, Des Moines, Iowa. It was shown on 1 October 2017 at the State History Museum Auditorium.

Soheil Nasseri

An interview with Soheil Nasseri, dated 17 March 2008, discusses Sorabji in the context of his forthcoming recital of 20 March at the Royal Festival Hall (London), which included a performance of the Sonata no. 0 for Piano (1917; 30 pp.). The interview is available on Archive.org as BIBA and Soheil Naseri on Six Pillars to Persia, Resonance 104.4.fm. The segment on Sorabji is found 08:37 and 10:18, and Nasseri’s playing of the beginning of the work (up to bar 40) is heard between 25:43 and 30:32 (end of the programme).

Jonathan Powell

Jonathan Powell’s performance of Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) of 13 May 2017 at the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building, St Hilda’s College, Oxford, is available as a video recording. A modest fee is required to view; see a post on the Sorabji Forum for further details. The recording consists of two parts followed by a third one, which is available as “Alistair Hinton Introduces Sorabji’s Opus Clavicembalisticum” (28:34; publ. 30 May 2017).

Friends and Acquaintances

Piano Music by Christopher à Becket Williams

Two short piano pieces by Christopher à Becket Willams, performed by Phillip Sear, are available on YouTube:

• “In the Time of Watteau”, from Hampton Court (Suite 1) (1919), no. 2; publ. 22 January 2014
• “Sir Peter Lely’s Favourite Dance”, from Hampton Court (Suite 2), no. 2 (1926); publ. 17 January 2014 (citation in the British Library’s catalogue)

Erik Chisholm’s Voice

The website of the Erik Chisholm Trust has a 17-minute talk for the BBC, broadcast on 20 May 1949, featuring Chisholm’s voice.

Hugh MacDiarmid: A Portrait

The Scottish filmmaker and poet Margaret Caroline Tait (1918-99), founder of Ancona Films (Edinburgh), produced in 1964 a black and white 16-mm film (duration: 8.27 minutes) entitled Hugh MacDiarmid: A Portrait. It shows this friend and dedicatee of Sorabji (then aged 71) in and outside his home, reciting some of his own poems. There is music in the form of a setting of his poem The Eemis Stane by Francis George Scott, also a friend and dedicatee of Sorabji. (See also Michael Spencer’s Eemis Stane: Hommage [sic] to Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji for Solo Piano, written in homage to Sorabji.) The film is available at the Scottish Screen Archive under reference number 6220, whcich gives full details. The entire film can be seen on YouTube.

The website of the Scottish Screen Archive also lists, under reference number 0537, a black and white mute film (duration: 1 minute) entitled Shostakovich and Hugh MacDiarmid. It shows them with Ronald Stevenson (friend and dedicatee of Sorabji) and the score of his Passacaglia on DSCH being presented to the Russian composer at the Edinburgh Festival in 1962.

Poetic Texts by Harold Morland

The private recordings from the archives of the late Robert William Procter of four Sorabji-related texts by his friend, the poet Harold Morland, the dedicatee of four of his works, are documented elsewhere.

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Last modified: 2024-03-29
© Marc-André Roberge 2024

The contents of this website dedicated to the English composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji may be freely used for documentary purposes in a research context, provided that due credit is given, but may not be mirrored on any other server. Links to external or third-party websites are not guaranteed to be or remain valid or persistent and their content is not guaranteed to be or remain accurate or appropriate.