Henryk Mikolaj Górecki

Born: December 6, 1933 in Silesia, Poland

Studies: Composition with Boleslaw Szabelski at the State Higher School of Music (PWSM) in Katowice, 1955–1960

Assignments: Professor of composition and Rector at the PWSM, 1975–1979

On the world scene: The phenomenal success of his Symphony No. 3 (Gramophone’s Best-selling CD in 1993) astounded many of his contemporaries, especially in Poland, where the work had been known for more than a decade.

About creating: “Composing is a terribly personal matter: the overcoming of difficulties, gaining knowledge, deciding upon a certain order, a certain method of constructing a new piece. This is important. You have to chose your way, you have to pick a proper path from an infinite number of possibilities. What do I do? “Music begins with sound. It is always based on some musical association, a musical theme or a structure. When composing I always begin with introducing some order. I have many things prepared much, much earlier than I begin to compose a piece. In this way I have researched and analyzed the possibilities provided by my materials. However, many pieces that I had worked on have never been finished. I only ordered the materials.”

Master Chorale concerts

Five Marian Songs, op. 54
Sunday, April 6, 2008

Lobgesang (Song of Praise)
Sunday, May 4, 2008