Kaikhosru Sorabji's Letters to Philip Heseltine (Peter Warlock)

'Meticulously transcribed here by Barry Smith, the complete letters are lively and engaging, providing fascinating insights into both the early development of these two composer-critics and their socio-cultural and musical milieu. The Introduction by Brian Inglis is critically astute, effectively drawing on recent scholarship to bring the issue of identity (particularly race) to the fore in a nuanced framing of Sorabji and his work, while also perceptively considering questions of sexuality, influence, and stylistic development in relation to both composers.... this is a rich and fascinating volume - a welcome addition to the burgeoning field of research into British music in the early decades of the twentieth century. It will be valuable not only to students, scholars, and performers of Sorabji and his music, as well as those of Philip Heseltine, but also to scholars of twentieth-century British music studies, and, more broadly, to those studying music, identity and race, and those interested in music and sexuality. Highly recommended.'

Nalini Ghuman- Fontes Artis Musicae

“extensive editorial annotations and references which are all quite fascinating … provides a new contextual, critical and interpretative framework, incorporating many different perspectives. [Sorabji] comes across as extremely well read and full of knowledge of the very latest musical trends. His excitement in having found someone who shares his enthusiasms is palpable, but there is also sadness … This collection provides an invaluable insight into Sorabji and Warlock's early musical careers, but also a fascinating account of their wider socio-cultural world which is so very different to today’s new music world. In the course of the correspondence Sorabji begins composing and performing for the first time and it is thrilling to hear his thoughts on the works which began his long career. Works which seem to have arrived from nowhere but which formed the basis for much that followed. This is invaluable reading.”

Paul Jackson – British Music News

“the two editors … do as much as possible to contextualise Sorabji’s letters in a number of ways … The [introductory] text, which is generously footnoted, is often thought provoking, and makes for very interesting reading. It provides a very adequate and perceptive background for what is to follow … We have to acknowledge and thank Barry Smith for his diligence and perseverance in transcribing what was often a barely legible text into something that is readily readable.”

John Mitchell – Peter Warlock Society Newsletter

“snippets from Heseltine’s correspondence with other confidantes ... [provide] fascinating insights into his changing perceptions of Sorabji … The volume also provides illuminating context to its narrative by interspersing the letters with excerpts from contemporary articles from various newspapers and periodicals … The editorial quality of the volume is high. The letters are accompanied with editorial footnotes that provide welcome explanations of many of the people and events in the letters, and the volume is appended by a comprehensive though not overburdened bibliography … this volume represents a fascinating and valuable contribution to the patchy scholarly literature on Sorabji, as well as providing broader context of musical life in Britain in the early twentieth century.”

Philip Wheldon-Robinson – British Music Journal

“As the title suggests, the emphasis here is on Sorabji’s musings … to Heseltine, who is refracted through related correspondence and period publications. Far from having a jarring effect, this adds further colour and context, building a novel-like narrative (there is one stomach-churning moment) … Sorabji has long been cast as an eccentric outsider; these letters are a reminder that, in the early 20th century, for a gay Indian man who loved alternative contemporary music, living in isolation was a means of self preservation.”

Claire Jackson – BBC Music Magazine

"This paperback is an object-lesson in how to present a correspondence when only one side of the exchange survives in the archive. Unfortunately, Sorabji failed to preserve the letters written to him by Philip Heseltine, so we only have his side of the correspondence, but one of the triumphs of this collection is that the letters are placed in context by a remarkably thorough scholarly infrastructure documenting Heseltine’s activities at the time and deducing what he might have contributed. Sorabji writes at some length and, despite his sometimes wayward views, it is a vivid and compelling picture of the musical life of their circle at the time."

Delius Society – Journal 170, Autumn 2021

"copious endnotes provide enlightening detail on many matters, especially on the cast of characters populating Sorabji’s letters… the rewards for having penetrated, through this collection, the fantastical mind and world of Kaikhosru Sorabji are manifold. One hundred years on, his letters remain visionary, challenging, revealing – and hugely relevant to the big issues of our age."

Brio – 59/2(Autumn/Winter 2022)