Synthesis was written between August and December 1974. It was commissioned by the two-pianos duo of Richard Rodney Bennett and Susan Bradshaw, who first performed it in the Lyons Hall, University of York in October 1976 as part of a BBC Young Composers' Forum which was recorded for Radio 3 and broadcast shortly afterwards. They played the piece again the following month in a two-piano recital at the Purcell Room, London. Over the years, Richard and Susan became close friends of mine, and helped and encouraged me in many ways. They and their commitment to musical curiosity and integrity are sorely missed - not only by me, but by many living British composers.

Synthesis plays continuously for about thirteen minutes. Each piano has a clearly defined character, and the two are set in opposition to one another. Piano 1 is masculine and aggressive; piano 2 is feminine and (superficially) yielding. Listeners are kindly requested not to condemn me for this outrageously sexist approach. Synthesis was written 50 years ago, and gender-sensitivities were not what they are today.

This gender duality between the pianos is stolen from Mozart, who used it in his concerto for two-pianos in E flat (K365) of 1780. It provides variety and contrast of texture to the two instruments, and adds a dramatic element in the form of a developing dialogue - or even a duel - between them. They engage in increasingly violent conflict, which grows to a climax; and then (about halfway through) begin to share material rather than attack each other. The gradual fusion of the two pianos is completed at the end of the piece, where a quiet trill is handed back and forth, lightly ornamented by references to earlier material. Put in human terms: two people who love each other get at cross-purposes, which build to a massive row, out of which comes sympathy, and (where appropriate) passionate rumpy-pumpy.

Critics were divided. The Financial Times critic Max Loppert commented: "Synthesis, a blend of game, showpiece and debate both civilised and dramatic, is full of character, of decisiveness and wit. It made a telling effect". Another critic described it as "a fearful hammering". In later years, Synthesis was also performed by Howard Shelley and Hilary McNamara.

Giles Swayne (2025)