Dedicatees of Musical Works

This page lists the dedicatees of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji’s musical works in categories according to the number of dedications received. Other categories include multiple dedications (i.e., dedications made at different times), joint dedications (i.e., dedications made to more than one person at the same time), and transfers of dedications after breaks in friendship. Finally, there is a list of those works that have remained undedicated.

The dedicatees of Sorabji’s two collections of essays, Around Music and Mi contra fa, are dedicated to Robert Lorenz and Denis Saurat, respectively. Saurat was already the dedicatee of Quintet II for Piano and String Quartet (1932-33; 432 pp.).

Recipients of One Dedication
Recipients of Two Dedications
Recipients of Three Dedications
Recipients of Four Dedications
Recipients of Five Dedications
Recipient of Eight Dedications
Multiple Dedications of the Same Work
Joint Dedications
Transfers of Dedications
Works without Dedication
- Before Sorabji’s Withdrawal from Public Life
  - Pre-Publication Period (1914-20)
  - Publication Period (1921-31)
- After Sorabji’s Withdrawal from Public Life

See an alphabetical list of the dedicatees, with the number of dedications, and an indication of the date of the possible first encounter.

In the section “Works without Dedication”, the headings “Pre-Publication Period” and “Publication Period” refer to the years before and after which Sorabji could have some of his works published by Curwen, London and Continental Music Publishing, and F. and B. Goodwin.

See also a list of references to publications with photographs of the dedicatees.

Recipients of One Dedication

Click on a column heading to sort, then shift-click on other headings to sort on multiple columns.
Surround strings with quotation marks for specific searches. Refresh the page to revert to the initial order.

Dedicatee	Works
Dedicatee	Works
Bowen, York	Passeggiata veneziana sopra la Barcarola di Offenbach (1955-56; 24 pp.)
Burton-Page, Anthony	Fantasiettina atematica (1981; 2 pp.)
Cooper, James H., and Joy McArden	Trois poèmes (1941; 13 pp.) {see Joint Dedications}
Cortot, Alfred	Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [no. 5] (1920; 144 pp.)
Davies, E. Emlyn	Second Symphony for Organ (1929-32; 350 pp.)
Davey, Frank	Fragment: Prelude and Fugue on FxAxx DAxEx (1926; 3 pp.)
De Solis, Aldo Solito	Concerto V for Piano and Large Orchestra [no. 8] (1927-28; 344 pp.)
Delius, Frederick	Il tessuto d’arabeschi (1979; 32 pp.) {in memory of}
Derus, Kenneth	Opus secretum atque necromanticum (1980-81; 48 pp.) {dedicated to Norman Gentieu on 28 March 1981 and, probably not remembering the dedication, to Derus on 26 May 1984; see Multiple Dedications of the Same Work}
Ellis, Havelock	Concerto per pianoforte e piccola orchestra, “Simorg-Anka” [no. 7] (1924; 100 pp.)
Garvelmann, Donald M.	Pasticcio capriccioso sopra l’op. 64, no 1 del Chopin (1933; 8 pp.) {dedicated to the composer’s mother and inscribed to Garvelmann in 1969; see Multiple Dedications of the Same Work}
Habermann, Michael	“Il gallo d’oro” da Rimsky-Korsakov: Variazioni frivole con una fuga anarchica, eretica e perversa (1978-79; 93 pp.)
Jenkins, Theodore	Two Piano Pieces (1918, 1920; 20 pp.)
Madge, Geoffrey Douglas	Passeggiata arlecchinesca sopra un frammento di Busoni (“Rondò arlecchinesco”) (1981-82; 16 pp.)
Marchesi, Blanche	L’irrémédiable (1927; 8 pp.)
Marrot, Vincent	Valse-fantaisie for Piano (1925; 16 pp.)
Martine, Marthe	Trois poèmes pour chant et piano (1918, 1919; 9 pp.)
Nason, Edward	St. Bertrand de Comminges: “He was laughing in the tower” (1941; 16 pp.)
Petri, Egon	Sequentia cyclica super “Dies irae” ex Missa pro defunctis (1948-49; 335 pp.)
Procter, Robert William	Due sutras sul nome dell’amico Alexis (1981, 1984; 2 pp.)
Richards, George	Third Symphony for Piano Solo (1959-60; 144 pp.)
Rapoport, Paul	Toccata quarta (1964-67; 149 pp.) {transferred in 1979 from Frank Holliday; see Transfers of Dedications}
Rowley, Alec	Fantasia ispanica (1933; 54 pp.)
Saurat, Denis	Quintet II for Piano and String Quartet (1932-33; 432 pp.) {later also inscribed to Mervyn Vicars; see Multiple Dedications of the Same Work}
Scott, Francis George	Sonata IV for Piano (1928-29; 111 pp.)
Sitwell, Sir Sacheverell	Rosario d’arabeschi (1956; 45 pp.)
Solomon, Yonty	Sonata III for Piano (1922; 75 pp.) {also dedicated four years earlier to Alistair Hinton; see Multiple Dedications of the Same Work}
Spencer-Bentley, Clive	Passeggiata variata sul nome del caro e gentile giovane amico Clive Spencer-Bentley (1981; 3 pp.)
Stevenson, Ronald	Villa Tasca: Mezzogiorno siciliano—Evocazione nostalgica e memoria tanta cara e preziosa del giardino meraviglioso, splendido, tropicale (1979-80; 47 pp.)
Trew, Charles A.	Concerto pour piano et orchestra da camera [no. 3] (1918; 100 pp.)
Vicars, Mervyn, with Denise, Adrian, and Kevin	Quintet II for Piano and String Quartet (1932-33; 432 pp.) {see Joint Dedications}
Welsh, Henry	Études transcendantes (100) (1940-44; 456 pp.)

Recipients of Two Dedications

Dedicatee	Works
Ashworth, Edward Clarke	Symphonic Variations for Piano (1935-37; 484 pp.) “Quaere reliqua hujus materiei inter secretiora” (1940; 16 pp.) {Letters to Frank Holliday suggest that the “E.” of the dedication could be this friend.}
Brittain, Rex H.	Arabesque (1920; 2 pp.) Prelude, Interlude, and Fugue for Piano (1920, 1922; 17 pp.)
Edroff-Smith, Emily	Symphony [no. 1] for Organ (1924; 81 pp.) 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.)
Heseltine, Philip	Concerto [no. 1] pour piano et grand orchestre (1915-16; 177 pp.) Quintet no. 1 for Piano and Quartet of Stringed Instruments (1919-20; 72 pp.)
Ireland, John	Opusculum for Orchestra (1923; 36 pp.) Opus clavisymphonicum—Concerto for Piano and Large Orchestra for Piano and Large Orchestra (1957-59; 333 pp.)
MacDiarmid, Hugh	Opus clavicembalisticum (1929-30; 253 pp.) Fantasiettina sul nome illustre dell’egregio poeta Christopher Grieve ossia Hugh M’Diarmid (1961; 10 pp.) {There is no dedication as such, but the name is part of the title and incorporated in a soggetto cavato.}
Dedicatee	Works

Recipients of Three Dedications

Dedicatee	Works
Dedicatee	Works
Best, Reginald Norman	Nocturne, “Jāmī” (1928; 28 pp.) Transcription of the Prelude in E-flat by Bach (1945; 4 pp.) Messa grande sinfonica (1955-61; 1,001 pp.)
Bromage, Bernard	Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [no.] III [no. 6] (1922; 144 pp.) {transferred from Bernard Bromage} Toccata [no. 1] for Piano (1928; 66 pp.) {transferred to Frank Holliday; see Transfers of Dedications} Sonata V (Opus archimagicum) (1934-35; 336 pp.) {transferred to Clinton Gray-Fisk; see Transfers of Dedications}
Busoni, Ferruccio	Sonata no. 1 for Piano (1919; 42 pp.) Sonata seconda for Piano (1920; 49 pp.) Variazioni e fuga triplice sopra “Dies irae” per pianoforte (1923-26; 201 pp.) {in memory of}
Chisholm, Erik {see Recipient of Eight Dedications}	Trois poèmes du “Gulistān” de Saʿdī (1926, rev. 1930; 16 pp.) {first manuscript probably dedicated to Bernard Bromage, but blotted out beyond deciphering} Symphony no. 0 for Piano Solo (1930-31; 333 pp.) {does not appear in the manuscript but in a letter of 23 August 1931} Tāntrik Symphony for Piano Alone (1938-39; 284 pp.)
Gray-Fisk, Clinton	Toccatinetta sopra C.G.F. (1929; 8 pp.) Sonata V (Opus archimagicum) (1934-35; 336 pp.) Toccata terza (1955; 91 pp.)
Rutland, Harold	Fragment Written for Harold Rutland (1926, 1928, 1937; 2 pp.) Un nido di scatole sopra il nome del grande e buon amico Harold Rutland (1954; 26 pp.) Fourth Symphony for Piano Alone (1962-64; 240 pp.)
Williams, Christopher à Becket	Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [no.] III [no. 6] (1922; 144 pp.) {transferred from Bernard Bromage} Three Pastiches for Piano (1922; 17 pp.) {no. 3 only} Le jardin parfumé: Poem for Piano Solo (1923; 16 pp.)

Recipients of Four Dedications

Dedicatee	Works
Dedicatee	Works
Gentieu, Norman P.	Concerto pour piano et grand orchestre [no. 4] (1918; 100 pp.) Third Organ Symphony (1949-53; 305 pp.) Suggested Bell-Chorale for St. Luke’s Carillon (1961; 1 p.) Opus secretum atque necromanticum (1980-81; 48 pp.) {also, and independently at a later date, to Kenneth Derus}
Holliday, Frank {see Transfers of Dedications}	Toccata [no. 1] for Piano (1928; 66 pp.) {transferred from Bernard Bromage in 1964} “Gulistān”—Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.) {transferred to Harold Morland in 1979} Second Symphony for Piano (1954; 248 pp.) {transferred to Harold Morland in 1979} Toccata quarta (1964-67; 149 pp.) {transferred to Paul Rapoport in 1979}
Peterkin, Norman	Quasi habanera (1917; 6 pp.) Fantaisie espagnole (1919; 23 pp.) Toccata seconda per pianoforte (1933-34; 111 pp.) Concerto da suonare da me solo e senza orchestra, per divertirmi (1946; 70 pp.)

Recipients of Five Dedications

Dedicatee	Works
Morland, Harold {see Transfers of Dedications}	“Gulistān”—Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.) {transferred from Frank Holliday in 1979} Second Symphony for Piano (1954; 248 pp.) {transferred from Frank Holliday in 1979} Frammenti aforistici (20) (1964; 9 pp.) Frammenti aforistici (Sutras) (104) (1962-64; 37 pp.) {inscribed in 1972 to Donald M. Garvelmann; see Multiple Dedications of the Same Work} Frammento cantato (1967; 1 p.)
Sorabji, Madeline Matilda (née Worthy; the composer’s mother)	Chaleur—Poème (1916-17; 32 pp.) Trois fêtes galantes de Verlaine (ca. 1919; 11 pp.) Symphony [no. 1] for Piano, Large Orchestra, Chorus, and Organ (1921-22; 300 pp.) Movement for Voice and Piano (1927, 1931; 9 pp.) Pasticcio capriccioso sopra l’op. 64, no 1 del Chopin (1933; 8 pp.) {later inscribed to Donald M. Garvelmann; see Multiple Dedications of the Same Work}
Dedicatee	Works

Recipient of Eight Dedications

Dedicatees

Works

Dedicatees

Works

Hinton, Alistair

Sonata III for Piano (1922; 75 pp.) {1973}
Symphony no. 0 for Piano Solo (1930-31; 333 pp.) {the original dedication to Erik Chisholm is found in a letter of 23 August 1931}
Benedizione di San Francesco d’Assisi (1973; 2 pp.)
Symphonia brevis for Piano (1973; 120 pp.)
Opusculum clavisymphonicum vel claviorchestrale (1973-75; 334 pp.)
Sixth Symphony for Piano (Symphonia claviensis) (1975-76; 270 pp.)
Frammenti aforistici (4) (1977; 1 p.)
Symphonic Nocturne for Piano Alone (1977-78; 113 pp.) {dedicated verbally}

Multiple Dedications of the Same Work

Dedicatees	Works
Dedicatees	Works
Chisholm, Erik Hinton, Alistair	Symphony no. 0 for Piano Solo (1930-31; 333 pp.)
Hinton, Alistair Solomon, Yonty	Sonata III for Piano (1922; 75 pp.) {dedicated to Hinton on 6 October 1973 and to Solomon around the time of his performance of the work (16 June 1977)}
Morland, Harold Garvelmann, Donald M.	Frammenti aforistici (Sutras) (104) (1962-64; 37 pp.) {originally dedicated to Morland on a sheet that came to be separated from the manuscript, which led Sorabji to inscribe it to Garvelmann in 1972}
Sorabji, Madeline Matilda (née Worthy; the composer’s mother) Garvelmann, Donald M.	Pasticcio capriccioso sopra l’op. 64, no 1 del Chopin (1933; 8 pp.) {inscription to Garvelmann added some time in or after 1969}
Saurat, Denis Vicars, Mervyn	Quintet II for Piano and String Quartet (1932-33; 432 pp.) {inscription to Vicars added in 1969}
Gentieu, Norman P. Derus, Kenneth	Opus secretum atque necromanticum (1980-81; 48 pp.) {dedicated to Gentieu on 28 March 1981 and, probably not remembering the dedication, to Derus on 26 May 1984}

Joint Dedications

Dedicatees	Works
Dedicatees	Works
Cooper, H. James, and Joy McArden	Trois poèmes (1941; 13 pp.) {The dedicatees were husband and wife.}
Vicars, Mervyn, with Denise, Adrian, and Kevin	Quintet II for Piano and String Quartet (1932-33; 432 pp.) {The additional dedicatees are Vicars’s wife and two sons.}

Transfers of Dedications

Original Dedicatee	New Dedicatee	Works
Original Dedicatee	New Dedicatee	Works
Bromage, Bernard	Williams, Christopher à Becket	Concerto for Piano and Orchestra [no.] III [no. 6] (1922; 144 pp.) {transferred at an unknown date}
Bromage, Bernard	Gray-Fisk, Clinton	Sonata V (Opus archimagicum) (1934-35; 336 pp.) {transferred in 1943}
Bromage, Bernard	Holliday, Frank	Toccata [no. 1] for Piano (1928; 66 pp.) {transferred in 1964}
Holliday, Frank	Morland, Harold	“Gulistān”—Nocturne for Piano (1940; 28 pp.) {transferred in 1979} Second Symphony for Piano (1954; 248 pp.) {transferred in 1979}
Holliday, Frank	Rapoport, Paul	Toccata quarta (1964-67; 149 pp.) {transferred in 1979}

Works without Dedication

Before Sorabji’s Withdrawal from Public Life

Pre-Publication Period (1914-20)

Transcription of “In a Summer Garden” (1914; 0 p.)
The Poplars (1915; 3 pp.)
Chrysilla (1915; 4 pp.)
Roses du soir (1915; 4 pp.)
L’heure exquise (1916; 2 pp.)
Vocalise pour soprano fioriturata (1916; 3 pp.)
Vocalise no. 2 (1916; 0 p.)
Medea (1916; 0 p.)
Apparition (1916; 5 pp.)
Hymne à Aphrodite (1916; 5 pp.)
Sonata no. 0 for Piano (1917; 30 pp.)
L’étang (1917; 2 pp.)
Désir éperdu — Fragment (1917; 1 p.)
Concerto II pour piano et grand orchestre (1916-17; 49 pp.)
I Was Not Sorrowful—Poem for Voice and Piano [Spleen] (between 1917 and 1919; 3 pp.)
Le mauvais jardinier (1918 or 1919; compl. Chappell Kingsland, 2023; 5 pp.)
Music to “The Rider by Night” (1919; 54 pp.)

Publication Period (1921-31)

Black Mass (1922; 0 p.)
Rapsodie espagnole de Maurice Ravel—Transcription de concert pour piano (first version, 1923; 16 pp.)
Cinque sonetti di Michelagniolo Buonarroti (1923; 40 pp.)
Introduction, Passacaglia, Cadenza, and Fugue (1929; compl. Alexander Abercrombie, 2004; 79 pp.)
Music for “Faust” (ca. 1930; 0 p.)

After Sorabji’s Withdrawal from Public Life

Rapsodie espagnole de Maurice Ravel—Transcription de concert pour piano (second version, 1945; 26 pp.)
Schlussszene aus “Salome” von Richard Strauss—Konzertmäßige Übertragung für Klavier zu zwei Händen (1947; 25 pp.)
Le agonie (1951; 0 p.)
Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra (1935-37, 1953-56; 540 pp.)
Variazione maliziosa e perversa sopra “La morte d’Åse” da Grieg (1974; 2 pp.)
Symphonic Nocturne for Piano Alone (1977-78; 113 pp.) {dedicated verbally to Alistair Hinton}