Piano score and part 0-571-51758-7 on sale

This three movement work is above all a sonata for violin and piano, not a sonata for violin with piano accompaniment. It was written during my final years at school in London. The first and last movements, though often changeable in mood, follow a slow-fast-slow structural pattern, in which reflective, slow duos contrast with more dynamic interaction between the instruments. The central scherzo, which exploits a few unexpected sonorities, maintains its quick tempo as it builds towards an explosive conclusion. The first performance was given - as part of a school concert - by Charles Peebles and myself. The first professional performance followed almost twenty years later at the Romerbad Musiktage, Badenweiler, in March 1996, with Irvine Arditti and Pierre-Laurent Aimard.

© George Benjamin, 1996