A Long Way From Radiohead (or Maybe Not So Long)

Radiohead virtuoso guitarist and classical composer Jonny Greenwood. Photo: Leon Neal/Agence France-Presse-Getty Images

Something I had not yet posted but still wanted to put up here is an article in the New York Times about Wordless Music. According to the Times it is «an experiment in genre mixing that has shown what can be done when you value imagination more than formats and rules. Usually matching rock bands with classical chamber groups, the program has built a following among young listeners on both sides of the street.»

Having heard Jonny Greenwood with the London Sinfonietta and Thom Yorke at the 2005 Ether Festval I have remained an interest in his compositions, however few in number. The one played at Wordless Music is called Popcorn Superhet Receiver. In a packed church the audience sat in rapt silence through Mr. Greenwood’s work and early Minimalist scores by Gavin Bryars and John Adams. «Greenwood’s 20-minute work was by far the most viscerally exciting and intellectually engaging of the three», writes Times journalist Allan Kozinn.

Read the full article (New York Times, January 18, 2008)
Read the preview (New York Times, January 16, 2008)

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