William Clift
News
- Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Henryk Górecki Receives Honorary Doctorate from Krakow Music Academy
Polish composer Henryk Górecki, who will celebrate his 75th birthday later this month, received an honorary doctorate from the Music Academy in Krakow at a ceremony that included a concert of the composer's choral works in the city's Franciscan Church. The 1992 Nonesuch recording of his Third Symphony, performed by Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta, went on to become the most successful recording of contemporary classic music in history.
About Henryk Górecki
After musical studies in Rybnik and Katowice, Gorecki’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 withdrawl from public life due to political and health pressures, the early ‘80s saw Górecki concentrating on choral settings and chamber music, including his trio Recitatives and Ariosos 'Lerchenmusik' (1984-85).
As a result of Poland's increasing political emancipation, Górecki's music has since the late 1980s travelled more widely and attracted new performers and audiences in the West. This renewed interest has led to the composition of two major string quartets, Already it is Dusk (1988) and Quasi una fantasia (1991), both commissioned for the Kronos Quartet, performances throughout the world including Górecki features at numerous international festivals, many choreographies to his music, and a series of highly successful new recordings on Nonesuch.
Górecki's most noted compositions of the 1990s included Concerto-Cantata (1992) for flute and orchestra and Kleines Requiem für eine Polka (1993) recorded by both the Schoenberg Ensemble on Philips and the London Sinfonietta on Nonesuch. Most recently Górecki has completed two new choral works, Salve, Sidus Polonorum (1997-2000) for chorus, percussion and keyboards, and Lobgesang (2000) for chorus and glockenspiel. Current plans include a third string quartet for the Kronos Quartet.
Reprinted by kind permission of Boosey & Hawkes
Latest Release
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Henryk Górecki: String Quartet No. 3 ("... songs are sung")
March 20, 2007Kronos waited a decade for Henryk Górecki, who garnered a worldwide audience with his Third Symphony, to complete this mournful, meditative work. The Quartet’s David Harrington says, “This music consoles as it faces, unflinchingly, the deepest aspects of life.”
