Henryk Górecki - Elementi (1963) - An introduction by Professor Adrian Thomas
615 views · Published 10 March 2011 · 5:08 · Indexed 10 November 2026
Channel: Gresham College · 2011 · Music
If all you know of the music of Henryk Górecki is his blissful third symphony, his aggressively avant-garde 1963 composition, Elementi, will come as a great shock. Personal friend of the composer and world-renowned expert on Polish music, Professor Adrian Thomas explains this perhaps most exciting of pieces by Henryk Górecki. Placing it in the context of both Górecki's career and the zeitgeist in which it was created, quoting from the composer directly and referencing uniquely-accessed notes for the composition, Professor Thomas offers a route through this piece he calls "uncompromisingly gritty". This is an extract from the lecture 'Henryk Górecki', which took place in December 2008 and included a performance by Chamber Domaine of works by Górecki. The full lecture can be downloaded (like all of our lectures) in from the Gresham College website, in video, audio or text formats: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website.
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