Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, 2001, photo by Czesław Czapliński FOTONOVA
Making unexpected connections between works, the U.K.’s only professional string orchestra – The Scottish Ensemble – weaves Górecki's Harpsichord Concerto, op. 40, and Three Pieces in an Old Style into a programme including Geminiani, Vaughan Williams, Holst, Vivaldi and Britten.
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933-2010) gained international acclaim with his Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs), originally released in 1976. The recording by soprano Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta, conducted by David Zinman and released in 1992 by Elektra-Nonesuch, sold more than a million copies topped the U.S. classical charts for 38 weeks.
Górecki joined Poland’s radical avant-garde in the late 1950s after his Epitafium, op. 12, for mixed choir and instrumental ensemble, was performed at the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music. He drew from the work of Luigi Nono, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Krzysztof Penderecki and Kazimierz Serocki, then in the mid 1970s, he developed his characteristic minimalist sound.
While Symphony No. 3 - devoted to a pained mother weeping over her son - emits an aura of religious contemplation, the Concerto for Harpsichord (or Piano) and String Orchestra, op. 40, lasts but nine minutes, with both movements uniquely dynamic and vigorously rhythmic. The piece was commissioned by Polish Radio for the Composers Forum in 1980, a presentation series of contemporary Polish composers.
A key piece of Górecki's "reductionist" period, the Concerto references Polish highlander music. "Its consistent texture, limited set of harmonic means, ostinato melodic figures and persistent motoric rhythms constructed from eighth notes," the Polish Music Information Center writes, "are unequivocal manifestations of the reductionist idea, making the Concerto its superb embodiment."
Allusions to ancient musice appeared in Górecki's music in the 1960s. He composed Three Pieces in an Old Style (1963) for string orchestra, in response to a friendly charge that his music lacked melody that was made by the then-director of the publisher Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, Tadeusz Ochlewski. Tadeusz A. Zieliński wrote for the 1975 Warsaw Autumn Festival,
The intentionally simple yet delectable releasing of the purely sonoristic characteristics of string sounds, the differentiating and contrasting of their thickness and dynamics take us right to the core of Górecki's individual style.
The Scottish Ensemble string orchestra performs Górecki for their Wigmore Hall concert series. The ensemble’s director and violin player is Jonathan Morton. "This is one set of musicians you really need to see live to fully appreciate", The Scotsman newspaper insists. They embark on a major tour of the U.S. in April 2013.
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue, specialising in performances of chamber music and song. The venue presents over 400 events in a season, with a concert broadcast every week, worldwide on radio and the internet through BBC Radio 3.
Programme:
Geminiani - Concerto Grosso ‘La Folia’;
Górecki - Harpsichord Concerto, op. 40, and 3 Pieces in Old Style;
Vaughan Williams - Violin Concerto (Concerto accademico);
Holst - St Paul’s Suite;
Vivaldi - Concerto in B minor for 4 violins, op. 3 No. 10;
Britten - Simple Symphony, op. 4
The concert takes place on Thursday, the 21st of Febuary at 7:30pm at the Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London , W1U 2BP.
For more information see: Wigmore Hall
Sources: culture.pl, Wigmore Hall website
Editor: Marta Jazowska