The premiere recording of Jonny Greenwood's 15-minute orchestral piece, Water (2014), has been released by ABC Classics, in performance by the group that commissioned the work, the Australian Chamber Orchestra. The release, which couples Greenwood's work with Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, is the first classical vinyl release in Australia for over 20 years.
Written following Greenwood’s stint as the ACO’s Composer-in-Residence in 2012, Water is inspired by Philip Larkin’s poem of the same name, which alludes to a glass of water ‘where any-angled light would congregate endlessly’. Scored for strings, flutes, keyboard, piano and two Indian tanpura, it takes the form of a continuous 15-minute
movement.
Kristjan Järvi included Water in a programme he gave with MDR Sinfonieorchester in Leipzig earlier this year.