Palimpsests' two parts were written separately, but first performed together in 2002 at London's Barbican Centre, conducted by their dedicatee Pierre Boulez. Palimpsests is a key signpost on his creative journey to date. A simple song for clarinets is subject to 'chaotic variation', by turns lyrical and fierce. It is a work of remarkable concision and intensity. 'The Palimpsests', Tom Service wrote in the Guardian, 'compress a gigantic musical experience” and amount to one of the 21st century's most compelling orchestral pieces so far.'