Total Immersion: Henryk Górecki
24th September 2015
“When his Symphony of Sorrowful Songs burned itself into the world’s imagination in the early 1990s, few had heard of Henryk Górecki. But for the previous four decades he had established himself as one of Poland’s most individual composers, journeying from avant-garde experiment to the simple, monumental style of his maturity. Direct, passionate and profoundly engaged with the folk culture of southern Poland, Gorecki’s own character shines through his music.”
On Saturday 3 October the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus, the BBC Singers and the Silesian String Quartet will present a one-day celebration of Henryk Górecki’s music as part of BBC SO’s continuing Total Immersion series at the Barbican Centre and St Giles Cripplegate Church.
The highlight of the day will be the Symphony Orchestra’s 7:30pm concert, featuring performances of Górecki’s Symphony No.2 ‘Copernican’ and his Harpsichord Concerto with soloist, Mahan Esfahani. Polish conductor and Górecki-specialist, Antoni Wit will be making his BBC SO debut in the evening’s concert.
Earlier in the day the Polish Silesian String Quartet will perform quartets No.1 and No.2 followed by a tea-time choral concert with the BBC Singers at 5:30pm who will perform a selection of the Chester music composer’s church music.
A free informative talk, exploring the impact of Górecki’s music through discussion of the compositions being performed throughout the day, will be given by Polish music expert Professor Adrian Thomas. Following which Please Find - Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, a film about Górecki’s life and work featuring insightful interviews with Górecki’s widow Jadwiga, his children, and composer Krysztof Penderecki, will screen at Cinema 2 at the Barbican at 3pm.
For the complete schedule of the day, further information and links to buy tickets, visit the BBC SO’s website.
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Discover more of Henryk Górecki's music with the Music Sales Classical playlists on Spotify.
