Album: Graham Reynolds, The Difference Engine (Innova)

Graham Reynolds is the quintessential modern composer, able to turn his hand to anything from rock to ballet to movie scores to jazz.

Here he presents a triple concerto inspired by Charles Babbage's invention of the computer. It opens dramatically, with frantic pizzicato and shrill bowing – evoking the speed of both Babbage's intellect and his machine's calculations – reaching a vertiginous climax in bold, cinematic style. The more contemplative second movement has echoes of Philip Glass's lyrical minimalism, while the third uses rasping, machine-like bowing beneath a lead line reminiscent of Ástor Piazzolla – evidence of the inclusivity that marks Reynolds' approach.

DOWNLOAD THIS The Cogwheel Brain; Cam Stack & Crank Handle; The Difference Engine