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Henryk Gorecki

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Composer

The Resume

    (December 6, 1933-November 12, 2010)
    Born in Czernica, Poland
    Last name pronounced Go-RET-ski
    Classical composer
    Best known for his Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)
    Also wrote three other symphonies and a series of string quartets commissioned by the Kronos Quartet

Why he might be annoying:

    Symphony No. 3 is the only one his works to become known to the public.
    Symphony No. 3 did not become popular until a decade and a half after it was written in 1977.
    One of the few Western critics to review Symphony No. 3 when it first premiered wrote that it 'drags through three old folk melodies (and nothing else) for an endless 55 minutes.'
    One of his students said, 'He could be ruthless in his opinions.'
    Conductor Wojciech Michiewski said, 'I've seen him walk out of concerts waving his fists and screaming 'This is a scandalous outrage' on at least two occasions.'
    His ill health and death delayed the scheduled premier of his Symphony No. 4.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His mother died on his second birthday.
    While he was still a student at the Kotowice Music Academy, the Silesian Philharmonic devoted an entire concert to his works.
    He was married to Jadwiga Ruranska for 51 years until his death.
    As a professor, he complained about interference by the Communist authorities, describing them as 'little dogs, always yapping.'
    He composed works to commemorate John Paul II becoming the first Polish-born Pope and the Solidarity movement.
    A 1993 recording of Symphony No. 3 by the London Sinfonietta featuring singer Dawn Upshaw sold over a million albums, topped the Billboard classical charts for 37 weeks and made the Top 10 on the British pop charts.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 69.23% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 211 Votes: 57.35% Annoying