On this day,

December 6, 1933

Polish composer of contemporary classical music

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki

was born

in the village of Czernica,

in present-day Silesian Voivodeship,

southwest Poland

Górecki’s early works were influenced by Messiaen, with whom he studied briefly in Paris in the early 1960s. The Communist regime’s stark disapproval of his music resulted in him using folk music as a basis for works such as Three Pieces in Old Style (1963).

His growing interested in Christianity became evident in his Second Symphony (1972), which sets a text by Copernicus in praise of God.

Górecki has composed few works since 1980; however, global success came in the late 1980s with his Symphony No 3 ‘A Symphony of Sorrowful Songs’, written fifteen years earlier.

We listen to

Symphony No.3, Op.36

“Symphony of sorrowful songs”

from the extremely successful recording

performed by soprano Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta,

conducted by David Zinman

I. Lento – Sostenuto Tranquillo Ma Cantabile 0:00
II. Lento e Largo – Tranquillissimo 26:48
III. Lento – Cantablile Semplice 36:14

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❝ 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 one, because you have to give the listener something and he has to make an effort in order to understand certain things.❞

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photos taken on a cloudy day, looking at mt. Parnitha, Athens

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Enjoy!

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Stay Safe!