Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892-1988)
"Tântrik Symphony for piano alone" - II. Svadishthana (beginning)
Abel Sánchez-Aguilera, piano
Recorded 21 June 2024
This is an informal recording of the first few pages from "Svadishthana", second movement of Sorabji's "Tântrik Symphony for piano alone". This is a work in progress - not a finished interpretation but more like a 'teaser'.
Sorabji's Piano Symphony no. 1 ("Tāntrik Symphony for piano alone"), finished in 1939, is a large-scale work in seven movements. Probably inspired by Sorabji's own practice of yoga, the movements are named after the seven energy centres or chakras, although the composer warned against taking extramusical associations literally. At nearly 450 pages in the printed edition, it is among his longest piano compositions, possibly about six hours long.
The first half of the work is of a colossal tryptich of three formally similar movements. Each one consists of an exposition of motifs followed by a long development and, sometimes, a recapitulation/coda - an idiosyncratic fusion of sonata form and motivic development that Sorabji called 'intrecciata'. Within this tryptich, the second movement "Svadishthana" seems to play the role of a 'slow movement' even though it is not strictly one; however, it does have a more meditative side to it that contrasts with the monumental first movement and its massive coda.
This project goes back to a decade ago, when I made a critical edition of the manuscript - the very first Sorabji edition I made. I am now learning the complete work, which I hope to perform in a couple of years or so.