Sorabji: "IIIc. Cadenza" from Piano Sonata No.4 (Eric Xi Xin Liang)

Recorded on January 20th, 2023. Learned and refined in approximately 15 hours. [DESCRIPTION] Just another fun little cadenza. Wow, out of the 4 cadenzas I've recorded so far by Sorabji, 3/4 of them sustain an A pedal tone. This cadenza, although it doesn't look visually as dense, is very much similar in polyphonic density as "VII. Cadenza I" from Opus Clavicembalisticum. It's just that the other is played faster with greater variation in speed and dynamics, giving a sense of much greater difficulty. I honestly had a lot of difficulty keeping focus on learning this one, because the satisfaction of learning this is delayed to the point where entire pages are played coherently. The phrasing in this, while there are short half-line phrases, can feel as if sustained for a page, or even the entire cadenza. The little fluctuation in emotional content this cadenza has makes it incredibly unsatisfying to practice; it's mainly a technical exercise with very abstract chord mixtures, though still vastly more harmonically rich and nuanced than most other technical exercises in existence. As well, because of this cadenza's hypnotic nature with sustained textures, I sometimes end up hypnotizing myself to sleep (not that it's boring though!!!) and napping for a bit hahahahaha. Now, upon hearing the final product, I still find it entrancing and need to be careful with replaying this too much or else I won't get anything done. Before I decided to learn this, I was aware Jonathon Powell also recorded this already, and I wanted to change up the approach a bit. Instead of perfectly even rhythm, which is technically impressive but not sufficiently musically attractive, I took a similar approach to "VII. Cadenza I" from OC and gave this cadenza a more "cadenza-like" feel (to a lesser extent) i.e. more improvisatory. By manipulating the timing of things a bit, and I adding more tonal and dynamic sensitivity to the chords, I added direction and topography to the music, but I ensured moderation such that the pulse of the music sustained, maintaining a trance-like feel. Thus, although the dissonances in this may not always be attractive, the overarching flow and shaping of the playing pulls the listener forward. And there is certainly reason to listening through the entire cadenza to the end, as I choose to only unleash the fury at around 3:40, the awaited payoff of keeping a trance. [0:00] Start [3:40] Coda [DISCLAIMER] If you're unfamiliar with this style of music, it is suggested that you go through the description of this previous video for the necessary background:    • Kaikhosru Sorabji: Gulistān (Eric Xi Xin L...  . Piano Sonata No.4, 2nd Movement:    • Sorabji: Piano Sonata No.4, 2nd Movement [...   All movements from Opus Clavicembalisticum I've recorded:    • Kaikhosru Sorabji: Opus Clavicembalisticum   "VIIa. Preludio" from Opus Archimagicum:    • Sorabji: "VIIa. Preludio" from Piano Sonat...   "VIIc. Cadenza" from Opus Archimagicum:    • Sorabji: "VIIc. Cadenza" from Piano Sonata...   All works by Sorabji I've recorded:    • Sorabji Piano Recordings (Eric Xi Xin Liang)   At time of recording, Eric is a full-time software engineer working in Big Tech, graduated from the University of Waterloo, Computer Science major. @musicforever60_official on IG:   / musicforever60_official   #piano #music #sorabji