Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki (composer)

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. Górecki became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during the post-Stalin cultural thaw. His Webernian-influenced serialist works of the 1950s and 1960s were characterized by adherence to dissonant modernism and drew influence from Luigi Nono, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Krzysztof Penderecki and Kazimierz Serocki. He continued in this direction throughout the 1960s, but by the mid-1970s had changed to a less complex sacred minimalist sound, exemplified by the transitional Symphony No.

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Recording of the Week, Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 4

22nd January 2016

David listens to the world-premiere recording of Henryk Górecki's fourth and final symphony, with Andrey Boreyko and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.