Sorabji Resource Site (SRS)

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.).

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 (1919; 1 p.)
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}

Last modified: 2024-03-05
© Marc-André Roberge 2024
Sorabji Resource Site (SRS)
Faculté de musique, Université Laval, Québec

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.

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