George Benjamin

Divisons

Playing piano four hands is an activity which I have relished since my youth, George Benjamin wrote in his notefor Divisions (2024–25). Premiered by the composer and longstanding collaborator Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the 14-minute piece is his first substantial contribution to the form, following the glittering ferocity and lyrical intensity of works like Shadowlines and Piano Figures – also conceived for Aimard. The title is a term used in 17th-century English keyboard music for a set of variations, but here also applies to the physical separation of two players at one instrument and makes their interaction its subject. Opening with quiet but insistent repeated notes, fragments of melody begin to appear and, in turn, clouds of harmony. Different strands of music are played simultaneously and juxtaposed accordingly, against a slow-moving backdrop, which is disturbed by cascades and ripples.