Henryk Górecki dies at the age of 76

Polish-born composer Henryk Górecki passed away on November 12, 2010 at the age of 76.  Górecki died in the cardiology ward of a hospital in his home city of Katowice in southern Poland.  He died from complications due to a lung infection.

Best known for his Symphony No. 3, op. 36 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" (1976) Górecki composed over 80 pieces.  Most recently he was composing his Symphony No. 4.  This piece was scheduled to be premiered on April 17, 2010, but was postponed due to health issues.

Górecki's music can be categorized into two periods.  The first is his avant garde period: 1950s to late-1960s.  His music was inspired by composers like Stockhausen and Varèse and took on a Boulez-like quality.  Górecki's Symphony No. 1, op. 14 "1959" (1959) is a good example from this period.  In the late 1960s Górecki began to compose his music in a more traditional and romantic mode.  This is typified in his Symphony No. 3, op. 36.  By the mid-1970s he was regarded by some as a composer who no longer mattered.

In 1992 Elektra Nonesuch Records released a recording of Górecki's Third Symphony performed by Dawn Upshaw, soprano and the London Sinfonietta, David Zinman, conductor.  This recording was released to commemorate the memory of those lost during the holocaust.  This recording brought Górecki international fame as it has sold over one million copies worldwide.

At the center of the second movement is the text of a prayer that was inscribed on wall 3 of cell number 3 in the basement of "Palace," the Gestapo's headquarters in Zakopane.
   No, Mother, do not weep
   Most chaste Queen of Heaven
   Support me always.
   "Zdrowas Mario." (Ave Maria)
Below these words was the signature of Helena Wanda Blazusiak and the words "18 years old, imprisoned since 26 September 1944."  Helena would eventually be freed and died in 1999.

In 1998 Górecki received an honorary doctorate from Concordia University in Quebec, Canada.  Ten years later in 2008 he received another honorary doctorate.  This time from the Music Academie in Krakow (Poland).  In October 2010 about one month before he died, Górecki was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest honor.  Not bad for someone who was regarded as a composer who no longer mattered.

   
  

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