Any new work by Sir George Benjamin is always a significant event, and his latest piano composition, Divisions, for four hands, does not disappoint. Premiered in Berlin this summer, and here receiving its first UK performance from the composer and Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Divisions packs an enormous amount of concentrated musical thought and pianistic imagination into its 15-minute span.
That’s exactly what we would expect from the famously meticulous Benjamin. His focus in the new piece is the interaction between two players at a single instrument as they counterpose an ever-changing variety of rhythms, dynamics and pianistic effects. The exploration is ingenious and compelling, from the enigmatic opening to an abruptly ambiguous ending which brought smiles all round.
