Henryk Górecki

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Henryk Mikolaj Górecki's early output saw him as a leading composer of the Polish avant-garde in the 1950s. He reached a worldwide audience thanks to the success of a 1992 Nonesuch recording of his Symphony No.3, "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs," featuring Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta, which sold more than a million copies and climbed to the top of the classical music charts in the US and the UK. Górecki wrote three major string quartets, Already it is Dusk, Quasi una fantasia, and ...songs are sung, for Kronos Quartet. His death in 2010, at the age of 76, left an incomplete Symphony No. 4.

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Henryk Mikolaj Górecki passed away on November 12, 2010, in Katowice, Poland, after a long illness. He was 76 years old.

Górecki’s early output saw him as a leading composer of the Polish avant-garde in the 1950s, and he reached a worldwide audience in the 1990s thanks to the success of his Symphony No.3, “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.” The work was composed in 1976, and was at that time shocking in its tonality and simplicity, but it was with the release of the 1992 Nonesuch recording of the piece, featuring Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta, that its elegiac power attracted international attention, selling more than a million copies and climbing to the top of the classical music charts in both the US and the UK. It also reached number six on the mainstream UK album chart.

As a result of Poland's increasing political emancipation in the late 1980s, Górecki's music traveled more widely and attracted new performers and audiences in the West. This renewed interest led to the composition of three major string quartets, Already it is Dusk (1988), Quasi una fantasia (1991), and ...songs are sung (1995), all written for Kronos Quartet. Górecki signed a publishing contract with Boosey & Hawkes in 1988, leading to collaborations with the Kronos and Nonesuch’s recording of Symphony No. 3.

After musical studies in Rybnik and Katowice, Górecki’s compositions first made their mark in the mid-1950s when he found himself at the forefront of the Polish avant-garde at the time of the post-Stalin cultural thaw. His early works show a clear development from the folk-influenced worlds of Szymanowski and Bartók in the Four Preludes for piano (1955) and Songs of Joy and Rhythm (1956) to the modernist techniques of Webern and Boulez in Epitafium (1958) and Symphony No. 1 (1959), both premiered at the Warsaw Autumn Festival. During the 1960s Górecki continued in a radical direction in the Genesis (1962-63) and Muzyczka (1967-70) cycles of works, whilst paring down his compositional material and exploring the folk music traditions of his beloved Tatra region in such works as Three Pieces in Old Style (1963) and Muzyka staropolska (Old Polish Music) (1967-69).

The simple yet monumental style for which Górecki is today renowned became fully established in the 1970s with such works as Symphony No. 2, “Copernican” (1972), the much lauded Symphony No. 3, “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” (1976), and the large-scale Psalm setting for chorus and orchestra Beatus Vir (1979). With his withdrawal from public life due to political and health pressures, the early ‘80s saw Górecki concentrating on choral settings and chamber music, including Miserere (1981) and his trio Recitatives and Ariosos 'Lerchenmusik' (1984-85).

Górecki's most noted compositions of recent decades included Concerto-Cantata (1992) for flute and orchestra, Kleines Requiem für eine Polka (1993) recorded by the London Sinfonietta on Nonesuch, and Salve, Sidus Polonorum (1997-2000) for chorus, percussion, and keyboards, and Lobgesang (2000).

His music is performed throughout the world including Górecki features at numerous international festivals and many dance pieces choreographed to his music, in addition to the Nonesuch recordings.

Górecki's death leaves an incomplete Symphony No. 4, commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Southbank Centre in London, The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, and the ZaterdagMatinee, Dutch radio's classical music concert series in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw

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Latest Release

  • January 22, 2016

    This first recording of Henryk Górecki’s final composition, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, was made during its 2014 world premiere at Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko. The piece, which pays homage to composer Alexsander Tansman, was incomplete at the time of Górecki's death; his son Mikolaj, also a composer, used his father's precise indications for orchestration to complete it. "This swansong turned out to be extraordinary: playful, dramatic and tender," says the Boston Globe, "an ambitious, hypnotic work." Gramophone calls it "a powerful and personal farewell from one of the 20th century’s most distinctive voices."

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  • April 24, 2017

    Polish composer Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, was released on Nonesuch Records 25 years ago today, April 24, 1992. Górecki had composed the piece in 1976, but it didn't appear on disc until then. The recording of the emotionally affecting piece, featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta led by conductor David Zinman, proved spellbinding to a diverse international audience, becoming the highest-selling album ever by a contemporary composer. "Perhaps people find something they need in this piece of music," Górecki speculated. "Somehow I hit the right note, something they were missing."

  • January 22, 2016

    Today marks the release of the late Henryk Górecki’s final composition, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, recorded during the 2014 world premiere performance at Royal Festival Hall with London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko. The piece, incomplete at the time of Górecki’s death, had precise indications for orchestration, which Górecki’s son Mikolaj, also a composer, used to complete it. NPR calls it "an intriguing summation of the sounds of a singular career." Symphony No. 4 is out individually and as part of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, a seven-disc box set containing all Nonesuch recordings of Górecki works. Also out now: the first vinyl LP of the beloved 1992 Nonesuch recording of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3.

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About Henryk Górecki

  • Henryk Mikolaj Górecki passed away on November 12, 2010, in Katowice, Poland, after a long illness. He was 76 years old.

    Górecki’s early output saw him as a leading composer of the Polish avant-garde in the 1950s, and he reached a worldwide audience in the 1990s thanks to the success of his Symphony No.3, “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.” The work was composed in 1976, and was at that time shocking in its tonality and simplicity, but it was with the release of the 1992 Nonesuch recording of the piece, featuring Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta, that its elegiac power attracted international attention, selling more than a million copies and climbing to the top of the classical music charts in both the US and the UK. It also reached number six on the mainstream UK album chart.

    As a result of Poland's increasing political emancipation in the late 1980s, Górecki's music traveled more widely and attracted new performers and audiences in the West. This renewed interest led to the composition of three major string quartets, Already it is Dusk (1988), Quasi una fantasia (1991), and ...songs are sung (1995), all written for Kronos Quartet. Górecki signed a publishing contract with Boosey & Hawkes in 1988, leading to collaborations with the Kronos and Nonesuch’s recording of Symphony No. 3.

    After musical studies in Rybnik and Katowice, Górecki’s compositions first made their mark in the mid-1950s when he found himself at the forefront of the Polish avant-garde at the time of the post-Stalin cultural thaw. His early works show a clear development from the folk-influenced worlds of Szymanowski and Bartók in the Four Preludes for piano (1955) and Songs of Joy and Rhythm (1956) to the modernist techniques of Webern and Boulez in Epitafium (1958) and Symphony No. 1 (1959), both premiered at the Warsaw Autumn Festival. During the 1960s Górecki continued in a radical direction in the Genesis (1962-63) and Muzyczka (1967-70) cycles of works, whilst paring down his compositional material and exploring the folk music traditions of his beloved Tatra region in such works as Three Pieces in Old Style (1963) and Muzyka staropolska (Old Polish Music) (1967-69).

    The simple yet monumental style for which Górecki is today renowned became fully established in the 1970s with such works as Symphony No. 2, “Copernican” (1972), the much lauded Symphony No. 3, “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” (1976), and the large-scale Psalm setting for chorus and orchestra Beatus Vir (1979). With his withdrawal from public life due to political and health pressures, the early ‘80s saw Górecki concentrating on choral settings and chamber music, including Miserere (1981) and his trio Recitatives and Ariosos 'Lerchenmusik' (1984-85).

    Górecki's most noted compositions of recent decades included Concerto-Cantata (1992) for flute and orchestra, Kleines Requiem für eine Polka (1993) recorded by the London Sinfonietta on Nonesuch, and Salve, Sidus Polonorum (1997-2000) for chorus, percussion, and keyboards, and Lobgesang (2000).

    His music is performed throughout the world including Górecki features at numerous international festivals and many dance pieces choreographed to his music, in addition to the Nonesuch recordings.

    Górecki's death leaves an incomplete Symphony No. 4, commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Southbank Centre in London, The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, and the ZaterdagMatinee, Dutch radio's classical music concert series in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw

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