Sorabji Piano Symphony no. 4 Recording Excerpt (FURY!!!!)

[ryguillian]

Oh my God! Somebody uploaded a recording of Sorabji’s Piano Symphony no. 4....

I made an excerpt of the most furious 30 seconds of the piece...

https://www.ryguillian.com/music/sorabjisym4/fury.mp3

Enjoy. :-)

---Ryan

P.S. The pianist is a Dutchman named Reinier Van Houdt.

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

Downright cataclysmic. As I only recently have heard some of Sorabji's music, I have grown to really love his language. I was particularly blown away by his 100 transcendental etudes, as some are just marvels in sound and form. Talk about fury, the passacaglia certainly has some moments.

[steveie986]

delusions of grandeur.

[debussy symbolism]

delusions of grandeur.

Delusions? I think that it is veritable grandeur.

[jre58591]

delusions of grandeur.

i smell ignorance.

[debussy symbolism]

i smell ignorance.

But if you look at it from another point, this music might represent the yearn for something, a desire. Perhaps even a slight tantrum of soul?

[pianiststrongbad]

Some things fly right by my head.  This is one of them (along with just about everything else he wrote).

[debussy symbolism]

With Sorabji, I am learning to listen to Music. Sorabji has made a remarkable musical language that is uniquely his. One of my favourite pieces of which I have listened is the 26'th Transcendental etude. The calm nocturne, coalesced with a slight spanish almost like feel. There is also the structural point of view in Sorabji's music. I can say that I do like Sorabji's music.

[pies]

a

[exigence]

Some things fly right by my head.  This is one of them (along with just about everything else he wrote).

 

I personally don't care for his stuff, but it does have something to it much like a few others have said - I love the Russians, a former professor of mine sticks to Field / Elgar / more truly Classical tastes; whatever floats your boat, right?

[soliloquy]

Randomly, while that excerpt from the first movement is like the piece as a whole ties Sonata No. 4 for most long/boring/repetitive.

[stevie]

lacks bass and speed

[prometheus]

For all those people that lash out against Sorabji, this is how his music really sounds: Click.

[tompilk]

Randomly, while that excerpt from the first movement is like the piece as a whole ties Sonata No. 4 for most long/boring/repetitive.

this is the symphony not sonata 

[ryguillian]

Since we're all sharing here, here's another great excerpt from the Toccata no. 1:

https://www.ryguillian.com/music/sorabjitoc.mp3

[ryguillian]

this is the symphony not sonata 

He said it ties with the sonata, he didn't say it is the sonata.

Ryan

[tompilk]

ah sorry my apologies... i misread.... i still don't agree though! 
Tom

[JCarey]

A quick contribution... don't expect to see much more from me, however...

This is the Passegiata Veneziana, which has recently become my favorite Sorabji piece. I'm surprised I hadn't discovered the beauty in this piece before! If you're interested in Sorabji's musical language, or were frightened by the links above, check this out: https://www.johncareycompositions.com/requests/sorabji/Sorabji - Passeggiata veneziana (Powell).mp3

The 4th symphony obviously isn't for everyone (pies, for example) but I wouldn't say it has to do with ignorance OR a "sense of decency." It's merely personal taste. We can't all be as lucky enough to recognize the subtle and not-so-subtle passion/beauty in Sorabji's music, I suppose. It's the kind of music that doesn't do what we expect, and therefore one can't listen to it the same way one would listen to a piece by Rachmaninoff. One must let the sounds wash over them, and listen to it another way.

The 4th symphony obviously isn't the best place to start, however. I usually link to this sample of Le Jardin Parfume as a good starting point - it gave me an entirely different view of Sorabji's music when I first heard it. I hope that it does the same for some of you who claim to hate Sorabji's music. Just lay back, close your eyes, and smell the aromas of a tropical mist. - https://www.johncareycompositions.com/requests/sorabji/LJP.mp3

Listening to Sorabji's music is like being in a dream - not always a pleasant one, necessarily, but that's part of what makes it so thrilling.

Now, back to composing... have fun, guys.

[JCarey]

https://www.michaelhabermann.com/sounds/_index.html

I would also like to point out, to those of you who haven't heard them, these two fascinating interviews with pianist Michael Habermann regarding Sorabji's music.

[tompilk]

yeah... you cant listen to it with the same mind as chopin etc... keep your mind open and think of it as a dream... flow with it and just let it absorb you... i find Sorabji like extremely absorbing easy listening (that is Jardin and the softer works). The OC and Symphony I have are a little more unsettling but i listen to them as an experience... each time it sounds better and better.
Am i right to say that his earlier works were more "normal" and less obscure? His first sonata is fantastic... you can really tell the links with scriabin etc...
Anyway, don't dismiss it because it's different... it is in it's own genre... but dont let it put you off...
Tom

[pies]

a

[lostinidlewonder]

I mean this posted recording can be Sorabji sometimes but he is not always like this. Listening to this mere 30 seconds does not give you any hint of what Sorabji actually sounds like. I think if people listen to some of his works which have replicated other famous pieces you might get insight into what SOrabji is actually trying to do with his sounds. Pastiche On The Minute Waltz Of Chopin Op 64 No 1 played by Habermann is an eye opener for example.

People who don't like the chaotic sounds that can be created in some of Sorabji's music should search for his calmer stuff. In The Hothouse (which was the first Sorabji piece I encountered) is absolutely beautiful. You definately feel suffocating humidity when you listen to it, makes me think I'm in a Singapore summer!

[stevie]

im complaining that it was simply not furious enough

[thierry13]

Some things fly right by my head.  This is one of them (along with just about everything else he wrote).

Perhaps your head is not hard to miss.

[viking]

And what would I have to do to get the whole symphony?  I could upload something for you....

[soliloquy]

this is the symphony not sonata 

Uh, are you serious?  let's look at this sentence piece by piece:

Randomly, while that excerpt from the first movement is like the piece as a whole ties Sonata No. 4 for most long/boring/repetitive.

Here's my quote you're referring to.


"Randomly, while" is inconsequential.  "That excerpt from the first movement" obviously refers to the first excerpt from the first movement of the Symphony No. 4.  "the piece as a whole" refers to the Symphony No. 4 also.  "ties Sonata No. 4"  means THIS PIECE, the SYMPHONY NO. 4, is equivelant to the SONATA NO. 4 in "long/boring/repetitive"-ness.

[ahinton]

Uh, are you serious?  let's look at this sentence piece by piece:

Here's my quote you're referring to.


"Randomly, while" is inconsequential.  "That excerpt from the first movement" obviously refers to the first excerpt from the first movement of the Symphony No. 4.  "the piece as a whole" refers to the Symphony No. 4 also.  "ties Sonata No. 4"  means THIS PIECE, the SYMPHONY NO. 4, is equivelant to the SONATA NO. 4 in "long/boring/repetitive"-ness.

For what it's worth, I found your statement unequivocal and perfectly easy to understand. I don't at all agree with it (as you might expect), but its meaning was nevertheless clear. My disagreement with it is on two levels; first, I don't find either work boring, still less repetitive - and second, it's hard to see how the one work could "tie" the other for length, since the earlier work is only around half the length of the later one. They are also quite different in character, as might reasonably be expected from two piano works separated by an interval of some 35 years.

Best,

Alistair