Sorabji Resource Site: Forms of Sorabji’s Name

Forms of Sorabji’s Name

This page lists the various forms of his name that Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji used in his early adult years, as seen in his letters to Philip Heseltine, to which references are given (see also SCC, 208). It also shows the time periods when he wrote Kaikhusru Sorabji, then Kaikhosru Sorabji, and when he finally settled on Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji.

In a letter to Harold Rutland dated 18 August 1975, Sorabji said that both Kaikhosru and Shapurji should have the accent on the first syllable; the same applied to Sorabji, but that he had come to live with the tendency of English-speaking people to stress the second one.

The pronunciation, using IPA symbols, is /kaɪkˈhɒsruː/ /ʃəˈpʊrɡi/ /səˈrɑːbdʒi/.

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Years	Forms of the Name
Years	Forms of the Name
1913-10 to 1917-06	All references to letter numbers between braces in this row are to Brian Inglis and Barry Smith, eds., Kaikhosru Sorabji’s Letters to Philip Heseltine (Peter Warlock) (London: Routledge, 2019). {1} Dudley Sorabjî Shapurjî {3 October 1913} {2} Dudley Sorabji-Shapurji {30 October [1913]} {3-4} Dudley Sorabjî-Shapurjî {8 December 1913, 6 January 1914} {5} D. Sorabji Shapurji {3 February 1914} {6} Dudley Sorabjî {[late February 1914]} {7} D.S. {[March 1914]} {8} C.LDSSorabjî [Cyrus Leon Dudley Shapurji] {March. Early [1914]} {9} Dudley S. {14 April [1914]} {10} D. S. {28 June 1914, [February-June 1914]} {11} Dudley Sorabji {Commenced 8 September [1914]} {12} C.D.S.S. {27 December [1914]} {13} C L. D S. Sorabji {11 January 1915} {14} D. K. Sorabji {24 January 1915} {15} C.L.D.S.S. [C overwritten with K] {2 March 1915} {16} K.L.D.S.S. {March 1915} {17} D. K. Sorabji {12 May [1915]} {19} DKS. {23 March 1916} {20-23] D.K.S. {23 February 1916, 17 March 1916, 23 March 1916, 21 April 1916} {26} KS (as a monogram superimposing the letters) {6 July 1916} {29} K.S. {[June 1917]} — Thanks for the “Kaikhusru”. No more D.K. please[,] K only please. I abandon D to the outer darkness. Letters 15 {2 March 1915}, 16, 18, 24, 25, 27, 28, 31, 32, 34-38 {March 1915 to 22 July [1922] use Your Gote (Goté in letters 27 and 34) or a very close form.
1915-05 to 1916-03	K. Sorabji is used for the songs written between May 1915 and March 1916: The Poplars (1915; 3 pp.), Chrysilla (1915; 4 pp.), Roses du soir (1915; 4 pp.), and Vocalise pour soprano fioriturata (1916; 3 pp.), but L’heure exquise (1916; 2 pp.) uses DKS.
1916-06 to 1920-02	Kaikhusru Sorabji is used from the Concerto [no. 1] pour piano et grand orchestre (1915-16; 177 pp.), dated 17 June 1916, up to Arabesque (1920; 2 pp.), dated 12 February 1920. The KS monogram is used in Apparition (1916; 5 pp.) and Hymne à Aphrodite (1916; 5 pp.). In Chaleur—Poème (1916-17; 32 pp.), one reads a note written much later in life: “I spelt it thus for a while” (with reference to Kaikhusru). The published works, all issued between 1921 and 1931, use Kaikhosru Sorabji.
1920-08 to 1933-08	Kaikhosru Sorabji is used from the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [no. 5] (1920; 144 pp.), dated 1 August 1920, to the Pasticcio capriccioso sopra l’op. 64, no 1 del Chopin (1933; 8 pp.), dated 13 August 1933.
1934-03 onwards	Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji is used from the Toccata seconda per pianoforte (1933-34; 111 pp.), dated 21 March 1934. Sorabji inserted the name Shapurji on the title page of the Three Pastiches for Piano (1922; 17 pp.) at a later date.