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87-459: Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( / ɡ ə ˈ r ɛ t s k i / gə- RET -skee , Polish: [ˈxɛnrɨk miˈkɔwaj ɡuˈrɛt͡skʲi] ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music . According to critic Alex Ross , no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during

174-532: A singer in a choir , as a player in a youth orchestra , or as a performer on a solo instrument (e.g., piano , pipe organ , or violin ). Teens aspiring to be composers can continue their postsecondary studies in a variety of formal training settings, including colleges, conservatories, and universities. Conservatories , which are the standard musical training system in countries such as France and Canada, provide lessons and amateur orchestral and choral singing experience for composition students. Universities offer

261-401: A band collaborates to write a song, or in musical theatre , where the songs may be written by one person, the orchestration of the accompaniment parts and writing of the overture is done by an orchestrator, and the words may be written by a third person. A piece of music can also be composed with words, images, or, in the 20th and 21st centuries, computer programs that explain or notate how

348-426: A composition professor , ensemble experience, and graduate courses in music history and music theory, along with one or two concerts featuring the composition student's pieces. A master's degree in music (referred to as an M.Mus. or M.M.) is often a required minimum credential for people who wish to teach composition at a university or conservatory. A composer with an M.Mus. could be an adjunct professor or instructor at

435-515: A conventional Western piece of instrumental music, in which all of the melodies , chords , and basslines are written out in musical notation, the performer has a degree of latitude to add artistic interpretation to the work, by such means as by varying their articulation and phrasing , choosing how long to make fermatas (held notes) or pauses, and — in the case of bowed string instruments, woodwinds or brass instruments — deciding whether to use expressive effects such as vibrato or portamento . For

522-655: A cryptogram that explains the way he built the theme for the symphony using musical letters from the first and last names of Alexandre Tansman . In 2004, Górecki left the piano reduction of Two Tristan Postludes and Chorale for orchestra, which received Op. 82. It was orchestrated by his son Mikolaj Górecki and premiered at the Tansman Festival, on October 16, 2016, at the Polish Radio Witold Lutosławski Studio Hall in Warsaw, by Jerzy Maksymiuk and

609-410: A fearsome reputation among his students for his often blunt personality. According to the Polish composer Rafał Augustyn , "When I began to study under Górecki it felt as if someone had dumped a pail of ice-cold water over my head. He could be ruthless in his opinions. The weak fell by the wayside but those who graduated under him became, without exception, respected composers". Górecki admits, "For quite

696-490: A few years, I was a pedagogue, a teacher in the music academy, and my students would ask me many, many things, including how to write and what to write. I always answered this way: If you can live without music for 2 or 3 days, then don't write...It might be better to spend time with a girl or with a beer...If you cannot live without music, then write.” Due to his commitments as a teacher and also because of bouts of ill health, he composed only intermittently during this period. By

783-502: A great deal of detail about his life and work, including that he achieved cult status thanks to valuable exposure on Classic FM . Discussing his audience in a 1994 interview, Górecki said, I do not choose my listeners. What I mean is, I never write for my listeners. I think about my audience, but I am not writing for them. I have something to tell them, but the audience must also put a certain effort into it. But I never wrote for an audience and never will write for because you have to give

870-579: A local branch of the "Catholic Intellectuals Club", an organisation devoted to the struggle against the Communist Party ( Polish United Workers' Party ). In 1981, he composed his Miserere for a large choir in remembrance of police violence against the Solidarity movement. In 1987, he composed Totus Tuus for John Paul II's visit to Poland. Górecki's music covers a variety of styles, but tends towards relative harmonic and rhythmical simplicity. He

957-454: A more traditional, romantic mode of expression. His change of style was viewed as an affront to the then avant-garde establishment, and though he continued to receive commissions from various Polish agencies, by the mid-1970s Górecki was no longer regarded as a composer of importance. In the words of one critic, his "new material was no longer cerebral and sparse; rather, it was intensely expressive, persistently rhythmic and often richly colored in

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1044-541: A new phase in his development, and was said to represent "the most colourful and vibrant expression of the new Polish wave". The festival announced Górecki's arrival on the international scene, and he quickly became a favorite of the West's avant-garde musical elite. In 1991, the music critic James Wierzbicki wrote that at this time "Górecki was seen as a Polish heir to the new aesthetic of post-Webernian serialism, with his taut structures, lean orchestrations and painstaking concern for

1131-441: A performer of Western popular music creates a "cover" of an earlier song, there is little expectation of exact rendition of the original; nor is exact faithfulness necessarily highly valued (with the possible exception of "note-for-note" transcriptions of famous guitar solos ). In Western art music, the composer typically orchestrates their compositions, but in musical theatre and pop music, songwriters may hire an arranger to do

1218-672: A period when Górecki was also absorbing the techniques of twelve-tone serialism . He graduated from the Academy with honours in 1960. In 1975, Górecki was promoted to professor of composition at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice, where his students included Eugeniusz Knapik , Andrzej Krzanowski , Rafał Augustyn and his son, Mikołaj. Around this time, he came to believe the Polish Communist authorities were interfering too much in

1305-473: A range of composition programs, including bachelor's degrees, Master of Music degrees, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. As well, there are a variety of other training programs such as classical summer camps and festivals, which give students the opportunity to get coaching from composers. Bachelor's degrees in composition (referred to as B.Mus. or B.M) are four-year programs that include individual composition lessons, amateur orchestra/choral experience, and

1392-565: A section of Symphony No. 3 in his 1993 film Fearless . Apart from two brief periods studying in Paris and a short time living in Berlin, Górecki spent most of his life in southern Poland. I was born in Silesia....It is old Polish land. But there were always three cultures present: Polish, Czech, and German. The folk art, all the art, had no boundaries. Polish culture is a wonderful mixture. When you look at

1479-453: A sequence of courses in music history, music theory, and liberal arts courses (e.g., English literature), which give the student a more well-rounded education. Usually, composition students must complete significant pieces or songs before graduating. Not all composers hold a B.Mus. in composition; composers may also hold a B.Mus. in music performance or music theory. Master of Music degrees (M.mus.) in composition consists of private lessons with

1566-438: A singer or instrumental performer, the process of deciding how to perform music that has been previously composed and notated is termed "interpretation". Different performers' interpretations of the same work of music can vary widely, in terms of the tempos that are chosen and the playing or singing style or phrasing of the melodies. Composers and songwriters who present their music are interpreting, just as much as those who perform

1653-403: A spiritual and emotional effort". Adrian Thomas , professor of music at Cardiff University , said, "The strength and startling originality of Górecki's character shone through his music ... Yet he was an intensely private man, sometimes impossible, with a strong belief in family, a great sense of humour, a physical courage in the face of unrelenting illness, and a capacity for firm friendship". He

1740-459: A tendency to cluster in specific cities throughout history. Based on over 12,000 prominent composers listed in Grove Music Online and using word count measurement techniques, the most important cities for classical music can be quantitatively identified. Paris has been the main hub for western classical music in all periods. It was ranked fifth in the 15th and 16th centuries but first in

1827-676: A university, but it would be difficult in the 2010s to obtain a tenure track professor position with this degree. To become a tenure track professor, many universities require a doctoral degree . In composition, the key doctoral degree is the Doctor of Musical Arts , rather than the PhD ; the PhD is awarded in music, but typically for subjects such as musicology and music theory . Doctor of Musical Arts (referred to as D.M.A., DMA, D.Mus.A. or A.Mus.D) degrees in composition provide an opportunity for advanced study at

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1914-487: A very difficult time breaking through and getting the credit they deserve." During the Medieval eras, most of the art music was created for liturgical (religious) purposes and due to the views about the roles of women that were held by religious leaders, few women composed this type of music, with the nun Hildegard von Bingen being among the exceptions. Most university textbooks on the history of music discuss almost exclusively

2001-530: A week. Górecki continued his formal study of music at the Academy of Music in Katowice , where he studied under the composer Bolesław Szabelski , a former student of Karol Szymanowski . Szabelski drew much of his inspiration from Polish highland folklore. He encouraged Górecki's growing confidence and independence by giving him considerable space in which to develop his own ideas and projects; several of Górecki's early pieces were straightforwardly neo-classical, during

2088-444: A whole. Across cultures and traditions composers may write and transmit music in a variety of ways. In much popular music, the composer writes a composition , and it is then transmitted via oral tradition . Conversely, in some Western classical traditions music may be composed aurally—i.e. "in the mind of the musician"—and subsequently written and passed through written documents . In the development of European classical music ,

2175-614: Is considered a founder of the New Polish School . According to Terry Teachout , Górecki's "more conventional array of compositional techniques includes both elaborate counterpoint and the ritualistic repetition of melodic fragments and harmonic patterns." Górecki's first works, dating from the last half of the 1950s, were in the avant-garde style of Webern and other serialists of that time. Some of these twelve-tone and serial pieces include Epitaph (1958), First Symphony (1959), and Scontri (1960). At that time, Górecki's reputation

2262-531: Is descended from Latin , compōnō ; literally "one who puts together". The earliest use of the term in a musical context given by the Oxford English Dictionary is from Thomas Morley 's 1597 A Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical Music , where he says "Some wil [ sic ] be good descanters [...] and yet wil be but bad composers". "Composer" is a loose term that generally refers to any person who writes music. More specifically, it

2349-473: Is often used to denote people who are composers by occupation, or those who work in the tradition of Western classical music . Writers of exclusively or primarily songs may be called composers, but since the 20th century the terms ' songwriter ' or ' singer-songwriter ' are more often used, particularly in popular music genres. In other contexts, the term 'composer' can refer to a literary writer, or more rarely and generally, someone who combines pieces into

2436-464: The Academy of Music in Kraków . At the awarding ceremony a selection of his choral works was performed by the choir of the city's Franciscan Church. Composer A composer is a person who writes music . The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music , or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. The term

2523-589: The Baroque music era, many composers were employed by aristocrats or as church employees. During the Classical period , composers began to organize more public concerts for profit, which helped composers to be less dependent on aristocratic or church jobs. This trend continued in the Romantic music era in the 19th century. In the 20th century, composers began to seek employment as professors in universities and conservatories. In

2610-522: The Kosciuszko Foundation in New York, and presented an early opportunity for Górecki to reach an audience outside Poland. As was usual, he undertook extensive research on the subject, and was in particular concerned with the philosophical implications of Copernicus's discovery, not all of which he viewed as positive. As the historian Norman Davies commented, "His discovery of the earth's motion round

2697-530: The London Sinfonietta and the Schönberg Ensemble, respectively. Songs are Sung is his third string quartet, inspired by a poem by Velimir Khlebnikov . When asked why it took almost 13 years to finish, he replied, "I continued to hold back from releasing it to the world. I don’t know why." During the last decade of his life, Górecki suffered from frequent illnesses. His Symphony No. 4 (oP. 85, 2006)

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2784-784: The Order of Polonia Restituta II class and III class and the Order of St. Gregory the Great . The world premiere of his Symphony No. 4 took place on 12 April 2014. It was performed, as originally scheduled in 2010, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall , London, but with Andrey Boreyko conducting instead of Marin Alsop . Symphony No. 4 is an extensive, 37-minute composition set for an approximately 100-person orchestra with piano and organ obbligato. The composer left

2871-519: The Renaissance music era, composers typically worked for aristocratic employers. While aristocrats typically required composers to produce a significant amount of religious music, such as Masses , composers also penned many non-religious songs on the topic of courtly love : the respectful, reverential love of a great woman from afar. Courtly love songs were very popular during the Renaissance era. During

2958-752: The historical drama The Crown . In 2017, Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite set the first movement of the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs as a ballet, Flight Pattern . In 2022, she set the whole symphony as a larger work, Light of Passage . French filmmaker Bertrand Blier used Beatus Vir in his 1996 film My Man . When placing Górecki in context, musicologists and critics generally compare his work with such composers as Olivier Messiaen and Charles Ives . He himself said that he also felt kindred with such figures as Bach , Mozart and Haydn , though he felt most affinity with Franz Schubert , particularly in terms of tonal design and treatment of basic materials. In

3045-476: The "most renowned and respected composers of our time", and said that Górecki's music "represents the most positive aspects of the closing years of our century, as we try to heal the wounds inflicted by the violence and intolerance of our times. It will endure into the next millennium and inspire other composers". In 2007, Górecki claimed 32nd place on the list of Top 100 Living Geniuses compiled by The Daily Telegraph . In 2008, he received an honorary doctorate from

3132-427: The 17th to 20th centuries inclusive. London was the second most meaningful city: eighth in the 15th century, seventh in the 16th, fifth in the 17th, second in the 18th and 19th centuries, and fourth in the 20th century. Rome topped the rankings in the 15th century, dropped to second in the 16th and 17th centuries, eighth in the 18th century, ninth in the 19th century but back at sixth in the 20th century. Berlin appears in

3219-422: The 20th century, composers also earned money from the sales of their works, such as sheet music publications of their songs or pieces or as sound recordings of their works. In 1993, American musicologist Marcia Citron asked, "Why is music composed by women so marginal to the standard 'classical' repertoire?" Citron "examines the practices and attitudes that have led to the exclusion of women composers from

3306-429: The 20th century, such as John Cage , Morton Feldman , and Witold Lutosławski . The nature and means of individual variation of the music are varied, depending on the musical culture in the country and the time period it was written. For instance, music composed in the Baroque era , particularly in slow tempos, often was written in bare outline, with the expectation that the performer would add improvised ornaments to

3393-613: The Dutch documentary film series Toonmeesters , of which episode 4 (1994) is about Górecki, he likened playing Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart every day to eating healthy whole grain bread every day. In the same episode he said that in Mozart and Schubert he found many new things, new musical answers. Since Górecki moved away from serialism and dissonance in the 1970s, he is frequently compared to composers such as Arvo Pärt , John Tavener and Giya Kancheli . Although none have admitted to common influence,

3480-471: The Paris Biennial Festival of Youth. He moved to Paris to continue his studies, and while there was influenced by contemporaries including Olivier Messiaen , Roman Palester , and Karlheinz Stockhausen . Górecki began to lecture at the Academy of Music in Katowice in 1968, where he taught score-reading, orchestration and composition. In 1972, he was promoted to assistant professor, and developed

3567-535: The Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra. Some of Górecki's music has been adapted for film soundtracks, most notably fragments of his Symphony of Sorrowful Songs . They are featured in Peter Weir 's 1993 film Fearless , Julian Schnabel 's 1996 biographical drama film Basquiat , Shona Auerbach 's 1996 film Seven , Jaime Marqués's 2007 film Ladrones , Terrence Malick 's 2012 experimental romantic drama To

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3654-520: The Wonder , Paolo Sorrentino 's 2013 art drama film The Great Beauty , Felix van Groeningen 's 2018 biographical film Beautiful Boy , and Malick's 2019 historical drama A Hidden Life . It has also appeared on television in numerous TV shows, including the American crime drama television series The Sopranos , American TV series Legion , crime thriller television series The Blacklist , and

3741-457: The academy's activities, and called them "little dogs always yapping". As a senior administrator but not a member of the Party , he was in almost perpetual conflict with the authorities in his efforts to protect his school, staff and students from undue political influence. In 1979, he resigned from his post in protest at the government's refusal to allow Pope John Paul II to visit Katowice, and formed

3828-413: The beginning of a long relationship between the quartet and Górecki. Górecki's most popular piece is his Third Symphony , also known as the "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" (Symfonia pieśni żałosnych) . The work is slow and contemplative, and each of its three movements is for orchestra and solo soprano. The libretto for the first movement is taken from a 15th-century lament, while the second movement uses

3915-653: The chords of A and E-flat. Despite the Third Symphony's success, Górecki resisted the temptation to compose again in that style, and, according to AllMusic , continued to work, not to further his career or reputation, but largely "in response to inner creative dictates". In February 1994, the Kronos Quartet performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music four concerts honoring postmodern revival of interest in new music. The first three concerts featured string quartets and

4002-592: The darkest of orchestral hues". The first public performances of Górecki's music in Katowice in February 1958 programmed works clearly displaying the influence of Szymanowski and Bartók . The Silesian State Philharmonic in Katowice held a concert devoted entirely to the 24-year-old Górecki's music. The event led to a commission to write for the Warsaw Autumn Festival. The Epitafium ( Epitaph ) he submitted marked

4089-517: The definition of composition is broad enough for the creation of popular and traditional music songs and instrumental pieces and to include spontaneously improvised works like those of free jazz performers and African percussionists such as Ewe drummers . During the Middle Ages, most composers worked for the Catholic church and composed music for religious services such as plainchant melodies. During

4176-414: The early 1970s, Górecki had begun to move away from his earlier radical modernism, and was working toward a more traditional mode of expression dominated by the human voice. His change of style affronted the avant-garde establishment, and although various Polish agencies continued to commission works from him, Górecki ceased to be viewed as an important composer. One critic later wrote, "Górecki's new material

4263-555: The faculty of his alma mater in Katowice, where he was made a lecturer in 1968, and then rose to provost before resigning in 1979. Between 1951 and 1953, Górecki taught 10- and 11-year-olds at a school suburb of Rydułtowy , in southern Poland. In 1952, he began a teacher training course at the Intermediate School of Music in Rybnik , where he studied clarinet, violin, piano, and music theory. Through intensive studying, Górecki finished

4350-430: The first and third movements are written from the perspective of a parent who has lost a child, the second is from that of a child separated from a parent. The completion of Górecki's Fourth Symphony, subtitled "Tansman Episodes", was delayed for many years, partly by Górecki's unease at his newfound fame. Indeed, it had not even been orchestrated when he died in 2010, and his son Mikołaj completed it after his death from

4437-599: The following twenty months in a hospital in Germany, where he underwent four operations. Górecki continued to suffer ill health throughout his life and as a result said he had "talked with death often". In the early 1950s, Górecki studied in the Szafrankowie Brothers State School of Music in Rybnik . Between 1955 and 1960, he studied at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice . In 1965 He joined

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4524-445: The formation of abscesses in various parts, all of which result from the contamination of the blood by products arising from a focus contaminated by the bacteria of suppuration . Earlier still, Ignaz Semmelweis – who later died of the disease – included a section titled "Childbed fever is a variety of pyaemia" in his treatise, The Etiology of Childbed Fever (1861). Jane Grey Swisshelm , in her autobiography titled Half

4611-721: The four-year course in just under three years. During this time, he began to compose his own pieces, mostly songs and piano miniatures. Occasionally, he attempted more ambitious projects—in 1952, he adapted the Adam Mickiewicz ballad Świtezianka , though it was left unfinished. Górecki's life during this time was often difficult. Teaching posts were generally badly paid, while the shortage economy made manuscript paper at times difficult and expensive to acquire. With no access to radio, Górecki kept up to date with music by weekly purchases of such periodicals as Ruch muzyczny ( Musical Movement ) and Muzyka , and by purchasing at least one score

4698-517: The function of composing music initially did not have much greater importance than that of performing it. The preservation of individual compositions did not receive enormous attention and musicians generally had no qualms about modifying compositions for performance. In the Western world, before the Romantic period of the 19th century, composition almost always went side by side with a combination of either singing, instructing and theorizing . Even in

4785-448: The goods office of a local railway station, but was an amateur musician, while his mother Otylia (1909–1935), played piano. Otylia died when her son was just two years old, and many of his early works were dedicated to her memory. Henryk developed an interest in music from an early age, though he was discouraged by both his father and new stepmother to the extent that he was not allowed to play his mother's old piano. He persisted, and in 1943

4872-503: The guidance of faculty composition professors. Some schools require DMA composition students to present concerts of their works, which are typically performed by singers or musicians from the school. The completion of advanced coursework and a minimum B average are other typical requirements of a D.M.A program. During a D.M.A. program, a composition student may get experience teaching undergraduate music students. Some composers did not complete composition programs, but focused their studies on

4959-552: The highest artistic and pedagogical level, requiring usually an additional 54+ credit hours beyond a master's degree (which is about 30+ credits beyond a bachelor's degree). For this reason, admission is highly selective. Students must submit examples of their compositions. If available, some schools will also accept video or audio recordings of performances of the student's pieces. Examinations in music history, music theory, ear training/dictation, and an entrance examination are required. Students must prepare significant compositions under

5046-438: The history of Poland, it is precisely the multiculturalism, the presence of the so-called minorities that made Poland what it was. The cultural wealth, the diversity mixed and created a new entity. Henryk Górecki was born on 6 December 1933, in the village of Czernica , in present-day Silesian Voivodeship , southwest Poland. His family lived modestly, though both parents had a love of music. His father Roman (1904–1991) worked at

5133-640: The listener something and he has to make an effort in order to understand certain things. If I were thinking of my audience and one likes this, one likes that, one likes another thing, I would never know what to write. Let every listener choose that which interests him. I have nothing against one person liking Mozart or Shostakovich or Leonard Bernstein, but doesn't like Górecki. That's fine with me. I, too, like certain things. Górecki received an honorary doctorate from Concordia University , in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Concordia professor Wolfgang Bottenberg called him one of

5220-497: The logical ordering of pitches". Górecki wrote his First Symphony in 1959, and graduated with honours from the Academy the next year. At the 1960 Warsaw Autumn Festival, his Scontri for orchestra caused a sensation among critics due to its use of sharp contrasts and harsh articulations . By 1961, Górecki was at the forefront of the Polish avant-garde , having absorbed the modernism of Webern, Iannis Xenakis and Pierre Boulez , and his Symphony No. 1 gained international acclaim at

5307-494: The melody line during a performance. Such freedom generally diminished in later eras, correlating with the increased use by composers of more detailed scoring in the form of dynamics, articulation et cetera; composers became uniformly more explicit in how they wished their music to be interpreted, although how strictly and minutely these are dictated varies from one composer to another. Because of this trend of composers becoming increasingly specific and detailed in their instructions to

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5394-400: The mid-20th century was Nadia Boulanger . Philips states that "[d]uring the 20th century the women who were composing/playing gained far less attention than their male counterparts." Women today are being taken more seriously in the realm of concert music, though the statistics of recognition, prizes, employment, and overall opportunities are still biased toward men. Famous composers have

5481-417: The music of others. The standard body of choices and techniques present at a given time and a given place is referred to as performance practice , whereas interpretation is generally used to mean the individual choices of a performer. Although a musical composition often has a single author, this is not always the case. A work of music can have multiple composers, which often occurs in popular music when

5568-435: The orchestration. In some cases, a pop songwriter may not use notation at all, and, instead, compose the song in their mind and then play or record it from memory. In jazz and popular music, notable recordings by influential performers are given the weight that written scores play in classical music. The study of composition has traditionally been dominated by the examination of methods and practice of Western classical music, but

5655-439: The performance of voice or an instrument or on music theory , and developed their compositional skills over the course of a career in another musical occupation. Pyaemia Sir William Osler included a three-page discussion of pyaemia in his textbook The Principles and Practice of Medicine , published in 1892. He defined pyaemia as follows: A general disease, characterized by recurring chills and intermittent fever and

5742-408: The performer, a culture eventually developed whereby faithfulness to the composer's written intention came to be highly valued (see, for example, Urtext edition ). This musical culture is almost certainly related to the high esteem (bordering on veneration) in which the leading classical composers are often held by performers. The historically informed performance movement has revived to some extent

5829-456: The piano score and notes left behind by his father. It uses similar repetition techniques as the Second and Third Symphonies, but to very different effect; for example, its opening consists of a series of very loud, repeated cells that together spell out the name of the composer Alexandre Tansman via a musical cryptogram , punctuated with heavy strokes on the bass drum and clashing bitonality between

5916-427: The possibility of the performer elaborating seriously the music as given in the score, particularly for Baroque music and music from the early Classical period . The movement might be considered a way of creating greater faithfulness to the original in works composed at a time that expected performers to improvise . In genres other than classical music, the performer generally has more freedom; thus for instance when

6003-413: The post- Stalin cultural thaw. His Anton Webern -influenced serialist works of the 1950s and 1960s were characterized by adherence to dissonant modernism and influenced by Luigi Nono , Karlheinz Stockhausen , Krzysztof Penderecki and Kazimierz Serocki . He continued in this direction throughout the 1960s, but by the mid-1970s had changed to a less complex sacred minimalist sound, exemplified by

6090-479: The received ' canon ' of performed musical works." She argues that in the 1800s, women composers typically wrote art songs for performance in small recitals rather than symphonies intended for performance with an orchestra in a large hall, with the latter works being seen as the most important genre for composers; since women composers did not write many symphonies, they were deemed to be not notable as composers. According to Abbey Philips, "women musicians have had

6177-463: The right note, something they were missing. Something somewhere had been lost to them. I feel that I instinctively knew what they needed." This popular acclaim did not generate wide interest in Górecki's other works, and he pointedly resisted the temptation to repeat earlier success, or compose for commercial reward. Nevertheless, his music drew the attention of Australian film director Peter Weir , who used

6264-430: The role of male composers. As well, very few works by women composers are part of the standard repertoire of classical music. In Concise Oxford History of Music , " Clara Shumann [ sic ] is one of the only female composers mentioned", but other notable women composers of the common practice period include Fanny Mendelssohn and Cécile Chaminade , and arguably the most influential teacher of composers during

6351-441: The singer or musician should create musical sounds. Examples of this range from wind chimes jingling in a breeze, to avant-garde music from the 20th century that uses graphic notation , to text compositions such as Aus den Sieben Tagen , to computer programs that select sounds for musical pieces. Music that makes heavy use of randomness and chance is called aleatoric music , and is associated with contemporary composers active in

6438-601: The sun caused the most fundamental revolutions possible in the prevailing concepts of the human predicament". By the mid-1980s, Górecki began to attract a more international audience, and in 1989 the London Sinfonietta held a weekend of concerts in which his work was played alongside that of the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke . In 1990, the American Kronos Quartet commissioned and recorded his First String Quartet, Already It Is Dusk , Op. 62 , an occasion that marked

6525-465: The term holy minimalism is often used to group these composers, due to their shared simplified approach to texture, tonality and melody , in works often reflecting deeply held religious beliefs. Górecki's modernist techniques are also compared to those of Igor Stravinsky , Béla Bartók , Paul Hindemith and Dmitri Shostakovich . In 1994, Boguslaw M. Maciejewski published the first biography of Górecki, Górecki – His Music And Our Times . It includes

6612-400: The term "geometrical period" for his works between 1962 and 1970. Building on Krzysztof Droba's classifications, she further divides this period into two phases: "the phase of sonoristic means" (1962–63) and "the phase of reductive constructicism" (1964–70). During the mid-1960s and early 1970s, Górecki progressively moved away from his early career as radical modernist, and began to compose in

6699-440: The top ten rankings only in the 18th century and was ranked third most important city in both the 19th and 20th centuries. New York City entered the rankings in the 19th century (in fifth place) and stood at second rank in the 20th century. The patterns are very similar for a sample of 522 top composers. Professional classical composers often have a background in performing classical music during their childhood and teens, either as

6786-460: The transitional Symphony No. 2 and the Symphony No. 3 ( Symphony of Sorrowful Songs ). This later style developed through several other distinct phases, from such works as his 1979 Beatus Vir , to the 1981 choral hymn Miserere , the 1993 Kleines Requiem für eine Polka and his requiem Good Night . Górecki was largely unknown outside Poland until the late 1980s. In 1992, 15 years after it

6873-575: The words of a teenage girl, Helena Błażusiakówna (Helena Błażusiak), which she wrote on the wall of a Gestapo prison cell in Zakopane to invoke the protection of the Virgin Mary . The third uses the text of a Silesian folk song which describes the pain of a mother searching for a son killed in the Silesian Uprisings . The symphony's dominant themes are motherhood and separation through war. While

6960-418: The works of three living composers: two Americans ( Philip Glass and George Crumb ) and one Pole (Górecki). Górecki's later work includes a 1992 commission for the Kronos Quartet, Songs are Sung ; Concerto-Cantata (written in 1992 for flute and orchestra); and Kleines Requiem für eine Polka (1993 for piano and 13 instruments). Concerto-Cantata and Kleines Requiem für eine Polka have been recorded by

7047-513: Was allowed to take violin lessons with Paweł Hajduga, a local amateur musician, instrument maker, sculptor, painter, poet and chłopski filozof (peasant philosopher). In 1937, Górecki fell while playing in a neighbor’s yard and dislocated his hip. The resulting suppurative inflammation was misdiagnosed by a local doctor, and delay in proper treatment led to tubercular complications in the bone. The illness went largely untreated for two years, by which time permanent damage had been sustained. He spent

7134-571: Was composed, a recording of his Symphony of Sorrowful Songs with soprano Dawn Upshaw and conductor David Zinman , released to commemorate the memory of those lost during the Holocaust , became a worldwide commercial and critical success, selling more than a million copies and vastly exceeding the typical lifetime sales of a recording of symphonic music by a 20th-century composer. Commenting on its popularity, Górecki said, "Perhaps people find something they need in this piece of music ... somehow I hit

7221-636: Was due to be premiered in London in 2010 by the London Philharmonic Orchestra , but the event was cancelled due to the composer's ill health. He died on 12 November 2010, in his home city of Katowice , from complications arising from a lung infection. Reacting to his death, the head of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music , Professor Eugeniusz Knapik , said "Górecki's work is like a huge boulder that lies in our path and forces us to make

7308-542: Was married to Jadwiga, a piano teacher. His daughter, Anna Górecka-Stanczyk, is a pianist, and his son, Mikołaj Górecki , is a composer. He was survived by five grandchildren. President of the Republic of Poland Bronisław Komorowski awarded Górecki the Order of the White Eagle , Poland's highest honour, a month before his death. The Order was presented by Komorowski's wife in Górecki's hospital bed. Earlier, Górecki received

7395-443: Was no longer cerebral and sparse; rather, it was intensely expressive, persistently rhythmic and often richly colored in the darkest of orchestral hues". Górecki progressively rejected the dissonance, serialism and sonorism that had brought him early recognition, and pared and simplified his work. He began to favor large slow gestures and the repetition of small motifs. The Symphony No. 2, "Copernican" (II Symfonia Kopernikowska) ,

7482-586: Was not lagging behind that of Penderecki and his status was confirmed in 1960s when Monologhi won a first prize. Even until 1962, he was firmly ensconced in the minds of the Warsaw Autumn public as a leader of the Polish Modern School, alongside Penderecki. Danuta Mirka has shown that Górecki's compositional techniques in the 1960s were often based on geometry, including axes, figures, one- and two-dimensional patterns, and especially symmetry. She proposes

7569-417: Was written in 1972 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus . Written in a monumental style for solo soprano , baritone , choir and orchestra , it features text from Psalms no. 145, 6 and 135 as well as an excerpt from Copernicus's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium . It is in two movements, and a typical performance lasts 35 minutes. It was commissioned by

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