A performance of his Symphony No. 3 sold over a million copies, making it one of the best-selling classical records of all time.
This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll hear the last major work by Polish composer Henryk Górecki – his Symphony No. 4, subtitled “Tansman Episodes.” The piece was written in tribute to his compatriot, Alexandre Tansman, who lived most of his life in Paris. Górecki had been cajoled into writing the work by the organizer of an annual Tansman Festival, held in Łódź, the city of Tansman’s birth.
The astounding success of his Symphony No. 3 was actually a source of consternation for Górecki. The celebrity and scrutiny thrust upon him had the effect of disrupting his routine and stirred up anguish about his future path. Remember, the Symphony No. 3 was composed in 1976. Most of the world had never even heard of Górecki before he skyrocketed to fame in 1992. That was the year that Nonesuch Records released its recording, which featured soprano Dawn Upshaw, and was conducted by David Zinman. However, in the 16 years or so between the work’s composition and its sudden, staggering popularity, Górecki had understandably moved on and continued to develop as an artist.
The sudden recognition caused him, rather Sibelius-like, to agonize over his next symphony. The work wasn’t completed in short score until 2006. The composer died in 2010 without having orchestrated the piece. However, he did leave indications of his intentions and had played through the work at the piano for his son, Mikolaj Górecki, also a composer. It was Mikolaj who took up the task of fleshing it out into full score following his father’s death.
The symphony was given its first performance on April 12, 2014, by the forces we’ll hear, the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko, in its world premiere recording.
Rather than reference any of Tansman’s actual music, Górecki decided to play on the letters of the composer’s name, devising a musical cipher made up of corresponding notes to act as a recurring theme. In the second movement, he also quotes Karol Szymanowski’s “Stabat Mater.” There are passing references to Stravinsky and John Adams in the work, as well, and an appearance by Wagner’s “Siegfried” theme toward the end. In general, he trades the mesmerizing lyricism of his Third Symphony for a more aggressive brand of minimalism in his Fourth.
I thought we’d preface Górecki’s symphonic tribute with some music by Tansman himself. We’ll hear the “Partita for Cello and Piano,” written in 1954 and 1955 for the famed Spanish cellist Gaspar Cassadó. It will be performed by the Cracow Duo – Kalinowski & Szlezer, Jan Kalinowski, cello, and Marek Szlezer, piano.
I hope you’ll join me for “Repeating Episodes” – Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 4 “Tansman Episodes” – this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, with a repeat Wednesday evening at 6; or that you’ll listen to it later as a webcast at wwfm.org.
POLE POSITIONS: Alexandre Tansman (left) and Henryk Górecki
