Krzysztof Penderecki: Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima; Polymorphia; Jonny Greenwood: Popcorn Superhet Receiver; 48 Responses to Polymorphia

These make an effective pairing. [May 2012, p.72]

On its face, this album is intended for adventurous listeners who enjoy exploring the classical avant-garde, though deeper investigation may attract others interested in sound sculptures, noise studies, and electronica, who can appreciate the atmospheric colors and shimmering sonorities of these modern masterworks.

The result is one of the most ambitious albums of the year so far.

The four pieces here make an album that carries a powerful impact, as well as recognising the obvious talents of both composers in writing for the string orchestra. The down side of this is that because of the performing forces the textures stay relatively similar the whole way through, and listening to all four pieces at once is not the best way to experience the album as a whole.

The melancholy mood pervades throughout, into the itchy, insect flurries of Penderecki's Polymorphia, for 48 strings, and Greenwood's 48 Responses To Polymorphia.

Greenwood has pretty much stacked the chips up against himself by deciding to get involved in this album in the first place. There's no need for him to be seen as a competitor to any canonical composer at this point in his career, but by putting his works side-by-side with Penderecki's, he inadvertently puts himself in that light, and it leaves us with an album that tells us very little about his work that isn't obvious to anybody who knows how long he's been composing (young composer still learning his trade--gasp!), and nothing about Penderecki that we haven't already known for over forty years.