My favorite piano Works in the XX Century is Scriabin first, Then Shostakovich second but certainly Sorabji as a third...
Sorabji is incredible genius like Scriabin but as much as Scriabin appeared spiritual guide for humanity to me as much Sorabji appear to me as a mad genius whose piece can be irritating obsessive but life changing too ...
John Ogdon , a giant pianist i discovered in Busoni Piano concerto created the greatest version of the Clavicem Ballisticum but this is not for all people the works is almost 5 hours , Dont buy anything but Ogdon by the way it takes a mad pianist with ferocious gift to play this piece :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxcD2yo1nlI&list=RDyxcD2yo1nlI&start_radio=1
But the best if you dont know Sorabji the more easy piece and also one of the most beautiful, is "the perfumed garden" and if you dont like this piece you dont like piano :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vE2d28yjI4&list=RD8vE2d28yjI4&start_radio=1&t=14s
Or played here by Sorabji himself..:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZs01TevxbM&list=RDVZs01TevxbM&start_radio=1
Musical time in Sorabji escape linear succession not as in Scriabin case which resemble a ladder we ascend or descend from time to eternity and back in one second, but in Sorabji case as a circular complex labyrinth existing in eternity and from which there is no escape no beginning no end, no reason, save the infinite variation itself......
By "hasard" of life i encountered personally the greatest specialist of Sorabji music many times and it enlightened me, i did not knew who Roberge was ..I was in my Busoni Faust discovery ( one of my rare favorite opera and the greatest performance of Dietrich fisher Dieskau with Schubert lieds) and i advocated for it to Roberge who answered me saying he was a musicologist specialist of Busoni as well as for Sorabji and this push me toward Sorabji ...it was 25 years ago ...
Here what he wrote :
«"Producing Evidence for the Beatification of a Composer: Sorabji’s Deification of Busoni" is an article by Marc-André Roberge published in The Music Review in 1993 (with publication in May 1996) that analyzes the intense and adulatory relationship between composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji and Ferruccio Busoni, suggesting Sorabji built an extensive body of work to elevate Busoni to a saintly status. The article discusses Sorabji’s persistent advocacy for composers like Busoni, who were not initially recognized by the musical establishment, and how Sorabji acted as a champion for them.
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The core of the article is Sorabji’s boundless and unique admiration for Ferruccio Busoni.
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"Producing evidence" for beatification:
Roberge argues that Sorabji’s extensive writings, particularly his critical essays and other publications, were a deliberate effort to compile "evidence" and promote Busoni to a near-deified or "beatified" status within the musical world.
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Sorabji as a controversial advocate:
The piece touches on how Sorabji’s passionate advocacy for unrecognized but significant composers (including Busoni, Alkan, Mahler, and others) made him appear eccentric to many readers of his time, though his judgment has been validated by the composers’ current high status. »
