Opus clavicembalisticum

rdf:langString Opus clavicembalisticum

rdf:langString Opus clavicembalisticum is a work for solo piano composed by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, completed on 25 June 1930. It is notable for its length and difficulty: at the time of its completion it was the longest piano piece in existence. Its duration is around 4–4½ hours, depending on tempo. Several of Sorabji's later works, such as the Symphonic Variations for Piano (which last probably about nine hours) are even longer. At the time of its completion, it was possibly the most technically demanding solo piano work in existence due, for the most part, to its extreme length and rhythmic complexity and to the vast resources of physical and mental stamina demanded by its many passages of transcendental virtuosity, although some works conceived by New Complexity, modernist and avant-garde composers, along with Sorabji himself, were more difficult still; it is in this particular area that Opus clavicembalisticum primarily receives its notoriety, and to this day is still highly regarded in that light. Sorabji may in part have been inspired to compose the work after hearing a performance by Egon Petri of Busoni's Fantasia contrappuntistica and Opus clavicembalisticum to some degree embraces an homage to Busoni's work. Sorabji's earlier (1928) Toccata No. 1, also for piano solo and likewise a multi-movement work, evidences similar Busonian influence and is in some ways a precursor of Opus clavicembalisticum.