Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, 2001; photo by Czesław Czapliński/FOTONOVA
The memorial concert honoring the eminent Polish composer, Henryk Mikolaj Górecki, on the first anniversary of his death takes place in New York featuring internationally acclaimed ensembles
Ensemble Signal led by music director and conductor Brad Lubman and the JACK Quartet commemorate the life and work of the Polish composer. On the programme are his "Kleines Requiem für Eine Polka" Op. 66 (1993) and "String Quartet No. 2" (Quasi una Fantasia), Op. 64 (1990-91).
The idea of the concert in tribute to Górecki was initiated almost immediately after his passing on the 10th of November 2010 by music impresario Ronen Givony in NewYork. Givony specialises in organising events associated with contemporary music and Anna Perzanowska, music programmer for the Institute of Polish Culture in New York(they have previously collaborated on Unsound Festival New York, the NYC presentation of the iconoclastic Polish festival of contemporary music). Anna Perzanowska remarked:
The inclusion of the "Kleines Requiem" on the programme was very important to us, as this great piece is heard less often than his quartets or the Third Symphony. The result of these conversations and our work together is what we think will be a very special concert, meaningful to the memory of Górecki and hopefully the larger community. We at the Polish Cultural Institute are very honoured to be working with the Ensemble Signal, Brad Lubman and the JACK Quartet, and with Ronen and (le) Poisson Rouge.
"Kleines Requiem" offers an enigmatic memorial mass; "polka" can refer to a Polish girl or woman, as well as the Central European dance, and the cryptic Górecki never explicitly stated his intent. The work, in four movements, does not seem to contain any dancing levity, but is instead somber, manic, and starkly beautiful.
The "Second Quartet, Quasi una Fantasia" invokes Beethoven, whose piano sonatas and string quartets influenced Górecki in the compositional structure of his first two quartets. In "Quasi una Fantasia", Górecki employs three major "Beethovian" triads which appear throughout the work, leading to the folk-influenced last movement, and a final return to the solemn opening statement.
In both these works, Górecki's persistent, uncompromising communion with his artistic vision is paramount. Taken together, and performed by two truly vanguard ensembles of the new music scene, this program offers a personal, finely etched portrait of a great artist.
The Polish Radio Choir, one of Poland's leading choirs, with whom the composer worked closely over many years, has also organised a tribute to Henryk Mikołaj Górecki in the UK and US. Conducted by Artur Sędzielarz the Choir performed pieces of Górecki's choral music in Durham, London, Bristol and Liverpool.
Górecki gained international acclaim with his haunting Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, its recording (released in 1992 by Elektra-Nonesuch) selling more than a million copies and staying at the top of the US Classical Charts for 38 weeks. His choral music is filled with the same distinctively spiritual lyricism and spontaneous human warmth, celebrating his Polish roots and Catholic faith.
David Harrington Kronos Quartet writes:
There is no one who can replace Henryk Górecki in the world of music. Many others have created beautiful, passionate, even exalted music. But Henryk found a way forward and beyond, through thickets of styles and fashions, that resonates of the single human being in communion with the power of the universe.
The programme in Liverpool featured: "Totus Tuus" op. 60 (1987), "Five Kurpie Songs " op. 75 (1999), "Three Lullabies" op. 49 (1984) (only in Bristol and Liverpool) and "Song of Katyn Families" op. 81 (2004), "Come Holy Spirit" op. 61 (1986), "Amen" op. 35 (1975).
The Polish Radio Choir's landmark tour began on the 5th of November, 2011 at the Durham Cathedral in Durham. The final concert takes place on the 8th of November 2011 at St George's Hall in Liverpool.
St George's Hall in Liverpool
St George's Hall Concert Room
www.liverpoolphil.com
The concert "In Memoriam Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki" is held on Tuesday, the 8th of November 2011 at 19:30 in the (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York.
(Le) Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street, New York, NY
Source: polmic.pl, www.PolishCulture-nyc.org