Researching and Recording the Piano Music of Henryk Gorecki
University of Idaho Seed Grant
Overview
abstract
The purpose of this project is to research, perform, and professionally record the complete piano music of Henryk Gorecki (1933-2010), one of the leading composers of the 20th century. Gorecki was a Polish composer who achieved great renown during his lifetime for his choral and orchestral music, particularly for his Symphony no. 3 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs". Despite his stature as a composer, Gorecki's piano music remains virtually unknown. Many of his piano works have never been recorded, nor has the sheet music even been published. Thus, music performers, scholars, teachers, and students do not have knowledge of or access to this repertoire. As no recording of Gorecki's complete piano music exists, successful completion of this project would represent a very important contribution to the field of 20th century music. The proposed CD recording would represent the definitive performance of these pieces, and would make Gorecki's complete piano music available to listeners for the first time ever. In addition to the CD recording, other anticipated outcomes of the project include concert performances of this music, conference presentations, and scholarly articles.
