Ensemble Signal Plays Jonny Greenwood (Tiny Desk Concert)

I truly believe Jonny Greenwood will be remembered as one of the best composers of our time. This Tiny Desk Concert registers the live performance of two of his pieces by Ensemble Signal. The first one, “Three Miniatures from Water” was inspired by a Philip Larkin poem.

“And I should raise in the east

A glass of water

Where any-angled light

Would congregate endlessly.”

The second piece, “88 (No. 1)” features this wonderful moment: “The performer has to put fingerless gloves on halfway through, partly in tribute to the immortal Glenn Gould, and partly because the technique requires some painful hammering. But don't let that fool you into thinking the music is dark or angry: It is — or is meant to be — joyful.”