Mycorrhizal Ecology

Mycorrhizal Ecology (2017), for two pianos, 4 hands, duration 3 minutes, premiered by Alexandra Standing and Penelope Watson on 11 May 2017 at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow. Commissioned by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

I was thinking about fungi and the way they work in symbiosis with plants, and about human society and how our survival depends upon cooperation. The piece imagines two different living things which thrive by sharing nutrients but retain their own distinct characteristics.

This recording was made by Alexandra Standing and Hebba Benyaghla at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in February 2018 and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 14 June 2018. Click to listen.