Sorabji's easiest pieces and shortest pieces

[superstition2]

So much fuss has been made about the length and difficulty of his pieces. I read one of Hinton's articles just now and he said about 80 pieces fit the standard repetoire length. What's the shortest piece (not a fragment of a larger whole), and what's the easiest piece? How does the easiest piece compare to a standard work in difficulty? This question is aimed at his piano works.

[ahinton]

So much fuss has been made about the length and difficulty of his pieces. I read one of Hinton's articles just now and he said about 80 pieces fit the standard repetoire length. What's the shortest piece (not a fragment of a larger whole), and what's the easiest piece? How does the easiest piece compare to a standard work in difficulty? This question is aimed at his piano works.

Yes, hasn't it just! I look forward to the time when people get tired of doing this - as I imagine you also do.

The shortes (and, I guess, easiest in all respects) of Sorabji's pieces are the 4 Frammenti aforistichi of 1977, all four of which in total occupy well less than one minute in performance.

Best,

Alistair

[superstition2]

Yes, hasn't it just! I look forward to the time when people get tired of doing this - as I imagine you also do.

The shortes (and, I guess, easiest in all respects) of Sorabji's pieces are the 4 Frammenti aforistichi of 1977, all four of which in total occupy well less than one minute in performance.

Interesting. How much of his work could be called miniature?

[ahinton]

Interesting. How much of his work could be called miniature?

Well, not the vast proportion, to be sure - but aside from the pieces I mentioned above, there are two other sets of Frammenti Aforistichi (one of 20 and the other of 104), all of which individually play for much less than one minute - some for only a few seconds each. Also from the later works, there's Passeggiata Variata and Variazione Maliziosa e Perversa, each around a minute and Fantasiettina which is about 4½ minutes. These pieces are all post-1960. From much earlier, there's Fragment (for Harold Rutland) and Fragment: Prelude & Fugue (a few minutes each), Toccatinetta (about 8 minutes), Pasticcio Capriccioso (3½ minutes), Trois Pastiches (c. 13 minutes), Désir Éperdu (less tha 1 minute), Two Pieces (10 minutes) - these all date from 1933 or earlier. In between, there's a transcription of a prelude from a Bach French Suite. I think that's about it, but I'm writing here about real miniatures, not just works that will fit into one half of a conventional length piano recital.

Best,

Alistair

[iumonito]

Al, this is very educational.

Do you like the Frammenti Aforistichi as sets?  I'll check out the archive for information, but your insight is of course always so very valuable.

As a set, how would you compare the Frammenti Aforistichi in terms of difficulty to, say, Prokofiev Visions Fugitives?  Would you have another work from the more standard literature that you think would be a more apt comparison?