Sorabji: A Critical Celebration

by Paul Rapoport (Editor)

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892-1988) was an unusual legend in his own a Parsi composer and critic living in England whose compositions are of such length and difficulty that he felt compelled to ban public performances of them. This book, the first devoted to Sorabji, explores his life and character, his music, his articles and letters. It both presents the legend accurately and dispels its exaggerated aspects. The portrait which emerges is not of a crank or eccentric but of a highly original and accomplished musical thinker whom recent performances and recordings confirm as unique and important. Most of the contributors knew Sorabji personally. They have all written about or performed his music, gaining international recognition for their work. Generous quotation of Sorabji's published and unpublished music and prose assists in bringing him and his work strikingly to life. The book also contains the most complete and accurate register of his work ever published.

Genres: Music

528 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1992

About the author

Paul Rapoport is a musicologist, music critic, composer and professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

Rapoport received his bachelor's degree in linguistics and music at the University of Michigan in 1970 and his master's degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1972 with a thesis on Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony. He went on to gain a doctorate at the same university in 1975, with a dissertation about Vagn Holmboe's four Symphonic Metamorphoses.

Part of the substantial collection of material related to composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji at McMaster University's library was obtained thanks to then-professor Rapoport's efforts. In addition to his work on Sorabji, he has been most associated with the music of Havergal Brian, Vagn Holmboe and Allan Pettersson as well as with various aspects of microtonal music. He has made use of microtones in his own compositions, which include a set of partsongs to poems by Erica Jong. As a critic he wrote mostly for the American magazine Fanfare, but also for Tempo, the American Record Guide, and others.