This work takes as its basis the early life of Charles Darwin and the main events within his childhood and teenage years. These include the death of his mother, his studies in Edinburgh and Cambridge, his association with Professor Henslow, and his readiness for the voyage on the Beagle. This one-movement piece sets up and establishes the structural motifs which form the basis of the whole work, and to some extent has a character contemporary to the time. One important quotation is used, from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 24, published in 1809, the year of Darwin's birth. The first performance is at the Wigmore Hall on Wednesday January 21st in a programme which includes works by Mendelssohn and Chausson.
