Music in Work For Four Hands.

A musical thread runs through Work For Four Hands, as the title suggests. The story takes the form of a duet between the two voices of Alison Buxton and her cousin Benedict Vern, with the sound of the piano never far away. Benedict says little but communicates much – through music, rather than with words. He’s an Outsider figure: outwardly successful, yet at heart only a tourist in the world of high finance in which he’s made his career.

I’ve been asked for Benedict’s playlist a number of times, and so here it is:

First and foremost is a Debussy prélude which, in a way, is a theme tune for the entire book. It’s La fille aux cheveux de lin, number 8 from the Premier Livre.

Other composers are important too:

Dohnányi

Scriabin

Rachmaninov

Chopin

Bartók

Mendelssohn

Liszt

Ligeti

Six Concert Études, Op.28, particularly numbers 3 and 4

Sonata number 2 in G sharp minor; Études

Préludes Op.23, numbers 5 and 2

Préludes (number 4 in particular); Nocturnes; Scherzos; Mazurkas

Allegro Barbaro

Lieder ohne Worte, Caprice in A Minor, Perpetuum Mobile in C

B minor sonata and Jeux d’Eaux à la Villa d’Este

Musica Ricercata