Gorecki made his reputation as a leader of the Polish avant-garde in the late 1950s. Since the 1970s, he has concentrated on monumental structures built from simple modal materials.
His works are inspired by folk and religious influences, and his emotional power and clarity of music has attracted a wide public following, boosted by record-breaking CD sales of his Symphony No.3: 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' (for soprano & orchestra).
Works by Henryk Mikolaj Górecki include: Old Polish Music (1967-69) for brass and strings Totus Tuus (1987) for chorus a cappella Already it is Dusk (1988) and Quasi una Fantasia (1991) for string quartet Kleines Requiem für eine Polka (1993) for ensemble
Erhard Grosskopf
