Jonny Greenwood had quite the weekend in Poland. On Friday night, his reworking of Krzysztof Penderecki’s “Polymorphia” entitled “48 Responses to Polymorphia” was premiered at the European Culture Congress in Wroclaw. Greenwood was part of a concert event which also included Aphex Twin celebrating Penderecki’s work. Here’s a description written before the event:
The programme of two concerts in Wroc?aw includes three compositions by Penderecki: “Polymorphia for strings”, “Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima” and “Canon for strings”. All these works, written for strings (in the latter case, for strings and tape delay), come from 1960-1962, the avant-garde years of the composer’s life. Both Aphex Twin and Jonny Greenwood will invoke just that period in their music. “Polymorphia” – performed for the first time 50 years ago – has become their source of inspiration. Aphex Twin is composing “Polymorphia Reloaded” while Jonny Greenwood – “48 Responses to Polymorphia”; both compositions will have their world premiere in Wroclaw.
On Sunday night, Jonny performed at the opening concert at the Sacrum Profanum Festival in Kraków. The week-long festival offers a retrospective of some of composer Steve Reich’s most iconic works, as well as newer additions. Jonny performed Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint,” a composition written in 1987 with three movements: “Fast,” “Slow,” and “Fast.”
After the jump, you can view Friday’s night’s performance of Jonny’s “48 Responses to Polymorphia” as well as an interview with him about Penderecki.
UPDATE: You can now watch a video of Jonny’s performance of “Electric Counterpoint” here.