Górecki: Symphony No. 4

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

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."

Description

Nonesuch Records released the late Henryk Górecki’s final composition, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, on January 22, 2016. The recording was made during the 2014 world premiere performance at Royal Festival Hall with co-commissioner London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko. The piece, which pays homage to Górecki’s fellow Polish composer Alexsander Tansman, was incomplete at the time of Górecki’s 2010 death and thus missed its previously scheduled premiere. However the score had precise indications for orchestration, which Górecki’s son Mikolaj, also a composer, used to complete it. The Daily Telegraph said the piece "caps Górecki's reputation as an orchestral composer, but it also contains some surprises. The music … features some brutal juxtapositions of massively powerful music with slow, intimate passages for solo instruments, including prominent parts for piano and organ."

Symphony No. 4 will be released individually and as part of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, a seven-disc box set containing all Nonesuch recordings of Górecki works—Lerchenmusik; Symphony No. 3; String Quartets Nos. 1, 2, and 3; Miserere; Kleines Requiem für eine Polka; Harpsichord Concerto; and Good Night. The first vinyl LP of the beloved 1992 Nonesuch recording of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 also will be released on January 22.

Born in 1933, Henryk Górecki spent most of his life in southern Poland. He was a leading composer of the Polish avant-garde in the 1950s and later reached a worldwide audience in the 1990s thanks to the success of his Symphony No. 3. 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 it 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. On the unexpected popularity of the piece, the composer remarked, "Perhaps people find something they need in this piece of music ... somehow I hit the right note, something they were missing. Something somewhere had been lost to them. I feel that I instinctively knew what they needed."

The London Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham. Since then, its principal conductors have included Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt, and Kurt Masur. In 2007, Vladimir Jurowski became the Orchestra’s principal conductor. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been performing at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall since it opened in 1951, becoming resident orchestra in 1992. It also has residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. The Orchestra frequently tours abroad: highlights of the 2014–15 season included appearances across Europe, including Iceland, and tours to the USA (West and East Coasts), Canada, and China. The Orchestra broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and has recorded soundtracks for numerous films including The Lord of the Rings. In 2005 it began releasing live, studio, and archive recordings on its own CD label.

Symphony No. 4 received its US premiere in January of this year, by co-commissioner Los Angeles Philharmonic, and was performed in February by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw (which is home to the piece’s third co-commissioner, the ZaterdagMatinee concert series). This recording was supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the Polska Music program.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Recorded April 12, 2014, live at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall, London
Producer: Tim Oldham
Engineer: Mike Hatch
Mixed and mastered by Mike Hatch at Floating Earth Ltd, London

Cover photograph by Gerry Kurkmans
Original design by John Heiden

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the Polska Music Programme

Nonesuch Selection Number

549570

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
Henryk Górecki
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Andrey Boreyko, conductor

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597950281
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597950335
Label
FLAC
Price
10.00
UPC
075597950298
Label
96/24 HD FLAC
Price
14.00
UPC
075597950311
  • 549570

News & Reviews

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • About This Album

    Nonesuch Records released the late Henryk Górecki’s final composition, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, on January 22, 2016. The recording was made during the 2014 world premiere performance at Royal Festival Hall with co-commissioner London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko. The piece, which pays homage to Górecki’s fellow Polish composer Alexsander Tansman, was incomplete at the time of Górecki’s 2010 death and thus missed its previously scheduled premiere. However the score had precise indications for orchestration, which Górecki’s son Mikolaj, also a composer, used to complete it. The Daily Telegraph said the piece "caps Górecki's reputation as an orchestral composer, but it also contains some surprises. The music … features some brutal juxtapositions of massively powerful music with slow, intimate passages for solo instruments, including prominent parts for piano and organ."

    Symphony No. 4 will be released individually and as part of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, a seven-disc box set containing all Nonesuch recordings of Górecki works—Lerchenmusik; Symphony No. 3; String Quartets Nos. 1, 2, and 3; Miserere; Kleines Requiem für eine Polka; Harpsichord Concerto; and Good Night. The first vinyl LP of the beloved 1992 Nonesuch recording of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 also will be released on January 22.

    Born in 1933, Henryk Górecki spent most of his life in southern Poland. He was a leading composer of the Polish avant-garde in the 1950s and later reached a worldwide audience in the 1990s thanks to the success of his Symphony No. 3. 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 it 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. On the unexpected popularity of the piece, the composer remarked, "Perhaps people find something they need in this piece of music ... somehow I hit the right note, something they were missing. Something somewhere had been lost to them. I feel that I instinctively knew what they needed."

    The London Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham. Since then, its principal conductors have included Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt, and Kurt Masur. In 2007, Vladimir Jurowski became the Orchestra’s principal conductor. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been performing at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall since it opened in 1951, becoming resident orchestra in 1992. It also has residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. The Orchestra frequently tours abroad: highlights of the 2014–15 season included appearances across Europe, including Iceland, and tours to the USA (West and East Coasts), Canada, and China. The Orchestra broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and has recorded soundtracks for numerous films including The Lord of the Rings. In 2005 it began releasing live, studio, and archive recordings on its own CD label.

    Symphony No. 4 received its US premiere in January of this year, by co-commissioner Los Angeles Philharmonic, and was performed in February by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw (which is home to the piece’s third co-commissioner, the ZaterdagMatinee concert series). This recording was supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the Polska Music program.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    London Philharmonic Orchestra
    Andrey Boreyko, conductor

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Recorded April 12, 2014, live at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall, London
    Producer: Tim Oldham
    Engineer: Mike Hatch
    Mixed and mastered by Mike Hatch at Floating Earth Ltd, London

    Cover photograph by Gerry Kurkmans
    Original design by John Heiden

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

    Supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the Polska Music Programme