Górecki symphony premiered in Poland

It will be the fourth performance of the work, following its world premiere in London in April 2014, and performances in Los Angeles in January and in Amsterdam the day before the Łódź concert.

The programme of the concert also includes two works by the Polish composer Aleksander Tansman (1897-1986), Four Polish Dances and Quatre Mouvements, a fitting choice in view of the fact that Górecki’s symphony is subtitled ‘Tansman Episodes’.

The city of Łódź is also a perfect location for the Polish premiere as it is Tansman’s birthplace and the venue of the annual festival in his tribute.

Left incomplete (in short score) at the time of Górecki’s death in November 2010, the Fourth Symphony was finished by the composer’s son, Mikołaj, on the basis of his father’s instructions.

In an interview for the Polish Press Agency, he described the piece as highly expressive and full of extreme performance directions relating to dynamics and tempo, which are characteristic of Górecki’s music.

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki owes his worldwide popularity to the unprecedented success in the 1990s of his Third Symphony. His output also includes four string quarters, all commissioned and premiered by the Kronos Quartet. (mk/jb)