Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Sheet Music
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (14 August 1892 – 15 October 1988) (born Leon Dudley Sorabji) was an English composer, music journalist, and pianist.
He occupies a curious place in the repertoire. Several of his works are of extraordinary length and difficulty, making them inaccessible to many pianists. In a letter from Sorabji to his good friend Peter Warlock, he writes, "You claim that I write monstrosities which only the composer can play. What if they were meant only for the composer?" One of his most famous works, Opus Clavicembalisticum—the fame enhanced by once being listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest piano work ever written—has a reputation as a mythic, nearly impossible staple of the super-virtuoso repertoire. However, its difficulties are not insurmountable, and it has been recorded several times. Many of his major piano works have not been recorded at all, and some others have had recordings of selected movements only. Much of his work is very melodic with combinations of lush, piquant and dissonant harmonies. The record label Altarus intends to eventually release a full discography of the composer's work.
He occupies a curious place in the repertoire. Several of his works are of extraordinary length and difficulty, making them inaccessible to many pianists. In a letter from Sorabji to his good friend Peter Warlock, he writes, "You claim that I write monstrosities which only the composer can play. What if they were meant only for the composer?" One of his most famous works, Opus Clavicembalisticum—the fame enhanced by once being listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest piano work ever written—has a reputation as a mythic, nearly impossible staple of the super-virtuoso repertoire. However, its difficulties are not insurmountable, and it has been recorded several times. Many of his major piano works have not been recorded at all, and some others have had recordings of selected movements only. Much of his work is very melodic with combinations of lush, piquant and dissonant harmonies. The record label Altarus intends to eventually release a full discography of the composer's work.