The second book of Structures by Pierre Boulez continues with the same basic principles set forth in the first book. The piece took four years to complete, and is organized into chapters, much like a literary book. The work deals with the materials of the first book of Structures in some ways, but much less than the title would imply; instead, there is more use of fewer strictly dictated materials and a more unified feeling to the piece overall.

Structures for Two Pianos, Book II has quite a bit in common with the Third Piano Sonata - more in common with this work than any other in Boulez' vast repertoire. For example, the element of chance appears in both works, though perhaps not to the same extreme (or even close) as other composers, such as Cage. The Sonata allows for the performer to choose some of the order of movements performed, which is also seen in some ways in the Structures Book II, allowing for the performer to control several events through the course of performance.

While these elements of chance do appear in some places, still, by far, the piece is more structured than most other composers have ever written. The pedal markings, for example, show the precision required to correctly perform the music - the actually height of the pedal is determined within the piece, allowing Boulez to pre-determine the dynamic level even more precisely than simple markings would allow.

Also, it must be mentioned that Boulez borrowed the basic pitch materials from Messiaen; the latter's Mode de valeurs served as the donor for both books of Structures, and since there are three divisions to Messiaen's work, with the first two being used for the two Structures, the possibility of a third existed since the completion of the second. Also, the second book shares Boulez' characteristic building technique, which continues to develop smaller ideas and gather size, sound, and spectrum until the piece reaches its height. Again, these are common stylistic features to all of Boulez' works.

Keeping in mind that this work marks a noticeable change in his style, incorporating many of the newer avant-garde ideas that existed at the time, there is little doubt that the second book of Structures will remain an important work in Boulez's repertoire. The piece is an important piece in tracing not only the composer's evolution, but musical composition as a whole through the course of the twentieth century.

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