Henryk Górecki

Play Radio

589,672 plays (100,121 listeners)

Send Henryk Górecki Ringtones to Cell
Buy
Add to my Library

Czernica, Silesia, Poland (1933 – 2010)

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (born December 6, 1933 in Czernica, Silesia, Poland. Died 12 November 2010 in Katowice, Poland) was a Polish composer of classical music. Though his earlier work in the late 1950s and 1960s were characterised by a dissonant modernism influenced by Nono, Stockhausen and contemporaries Penderecki and Serocki, he moved in the mid 1970’s towards a ‘pure’ sacred minimalist sound encapsulated by the 1976 Symphony No. 3. Gorecki has since progressed through several distinct styles, from the reverence of Beatus Vir (1979), to the meditative Miserere (1981), to the spiritualism of Good Night (1990).

He was married to pianist Jadwiga Ruranska and has two children - Anna, also a pianist, and Mikołaj, a composer.

Attending the Katowice State Higher School of Music from 1952, Gorecki studied under the composer Bolesłav Szabelski, a former student of Karol Szymanowski. His first public performances were held in Katowice in February 1958, and showed clear influence from both Szymanowski and Bartók. By 1961 he had progressed to the modernism of Webern, Xenakis and Boulez and was at the forefront of the Polish avant-garde, with his Symphony No. 1 gaining international acclaim at the Paris Biennial Festival of Youth.

While continuing his studies in Paris, Górecki was influenced by contemporary composers such as Anton Webern, Olivier Messiaen and Karlheinz Stockhausen, composers which were at the time suppressed by the Polish government.

In 1975 Górecki was appointed Professor of Composition at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice, but resigned his post in 1979, in protest against the government’s refusal to allow Pope John Paul II to visit the city.
Share this artist:

Top Albums

See more

Top Tracks

1
76
2
73
3
61
4  
46
4
46
6
39
7
37
8
32
8
32
8
32
11
30
12  
27
13  
23
14  
20
15  
19
Buy all tracks at Amazon MP3
See more

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).
  • coffeetalkh

    Symphony No 3 is wonderful.

    16 days ago
  • Eroslove

    Both Symphony No 3 and String Quartet No 3 are masterpieces.

    last month
  • tim4tw

    can't get over symphony no 3 [6]

    last month
  • RobM64

    If you've never discovered Miserere, you really should. 32 minutes of heavenly bliss. Just lie down with the headphones on and take a deep breath and let it transport you......

    February 2012
  • Rusubusu

    jego muzyka jest fantastyczny<3

    January 2012
  • the_eternal_sin

    Can't find a lot of his published works :/ I'll have to check on my school's music databases or for the scores themselves I guess. Amazing and very underrated composer

    January 2012
  • marcojpjb

    3rd string quartet > 3rd symphony

    January 2012
  • merEdaaa

    He is not from this world!

    January 2012
See all 245 shouts

Videos

See more

Top Listeners

See more

More Information

Labels