Upcoming premiere

13 February will see the release of a CD with music by Krzysztof Penderecki and Jonny Greenwood. The material was recorded at Alvernia Studios, and the album featuring the Polish composer and the lead guitarist of the British rock band Radiohead is issued on the American Nonesuch label. Krzysztof Penderecki tells about his cooperation with Greenwood (Dziennik.pl):
“In 2010, Filip Berkowicz offered you a joint concert with a musician of the British band Radiohead. Did you know who he was?
My granddaughter knew at once… I think I didn’t, but I became interested. Jonny brought me his records, I listened to them. He is a very gifted musician... It turned out that he had long been interested in my works from the 1950s and 1960s. In several of his interviews, Greenwood said that my music inspired him and this got me interested. I had a cursory knowledge of his work, only thanks to my children.
How do you recall your first meeting?
We met in Kraków and Mr Greenwood told me he wanted to write variations on the theme of my 1960s music. I had a completely different idea of him... He is a well-mannered young man, in the British style. I wouldn’t say he was engaged with this kind of music. During a concert at the European Culture Congress I conducted my three works for string instruments from 1960 and 1961: "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima”, "Polymorphia", and "Canon". Greenwood wrote two works, which are a response, a variation on my music. He took some elements from me, but of course these are his compositions.
Are these pieces found on the CD?
The album, which we recorded later, contains my two pieces: "Polymorphia" and "Threnody”, and two large works by Mr Greenwood.
Did you work together on this material?
We did not work together on the recordings. He wrote his works, which were conducted by Marek Moś, and I conducted my own works. Our cooperation was mainly about a contemporary composer of a completely different music becoming inspired with my work from 50 years ago. When juxtaposed, my works turned out to be very modern. This also entered the consciousness of young people, who may have known my name but had no knowledge of my music at all...”