Henryk Górecki - World of the Piano (Jarred Dunn; Anna Górecka)

Information

Composer: Henryk Górecki

• Toccata for Two Pianos, Op. 2
• Five Pieces for Two Pianos, Op. 13
• Four Preludes, Op. 1
• Lullaby, Op. 9
• From a Bird’s Nest, Op. 9a
• Intermezzo
• Sundry Pieces, Op. 52
• Moment musical
• For Anna
• Mazurkas, Op. 41
• Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 6

Jarred Dunn, piano

Anna Górecka, piano II

Date: 2025

Label: ATMA

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Review

Ever since his Symphony No. 3 ("Symphony of Sorrowful Songs") propelled him to unheard-of heights for a contemporary composer, Henryk Górecki has been known mostly for orchestral and choral works. He was not a prolific writer for the piano; this album contains his entire output of music for one or two pianos. Yet the music's significance is attested to by the presence of pianist Anna Górecka, the composer's daughter, on the two-piano works. She was the teacher of the principal pianist, Jarred Dunn, who has a fine feel for the combination of folk nationalism and atonal influences that characterize Górecki's early works. Most of the music comes from the first part of Górecki's career. At first, he was influenced by Bartók, and the set From a Bird's Nest, Op. 9a, consists of short pieces that recall those of Bartók's technically simple but never unsophisticated Mikrokosmos. Like other composers of his day, Górecki flirted with serialism, and the Five Pieces for Two Pianos, Op. 13, from 1959, offer an interesting example of his use of the method (although he disowned much of his serialist music), with a treatment of rhythm that is complex but not oriented toward the total serialism procedures of the day. Along the way are small works of personal significance, some of them from the more accessible later period of his work, and falling under the Polish category known as sonorism. Sample the Quasi valse, from the Sundry Pieces, Op. 52 (which gathers works from various periods); it is a humorous take on the experiences of those who have listened to piano practicing. The album may stand to the side of Górecki's main output, but it comes from musicians who know his music well, and it will be of great interest to the many who enjoy the work of this Polish composer.

— James Manheim

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Henryk Górecki (6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer. He studied at the Academy of Music in Katowice. His early works were influenced by Webern, Messiaen and Stockhausen. From the 1960s, his style shifted toward simpler forms incorporating folk, medieval and Catholic elements, often expressing profound sorrow. Górecki gained international recognition after the 1992 recording of his Symphony No. 3: Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, which became a major classical success. He continued composing primarily vocal and chamber works into the 21st century, completing his final composition in 2004.

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Jarred Dunn is a Canadian pianist. A graduate with distinction from the Katowice Academy of Music, where he studied with Anna Górecka, he has won major prizes at international piano competitions, including the Lithuanian International Chopin Competition. Dunn has performed extensively across Europe and North America at prestigious venues and with leading orchestras and chamber musicians. His artistry has been praised for its technical precision and expressive use of tone color. His recordings have been broadcast internationally, and he has received several Canadian artistic and scholarly awards.

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Anna Górecka (born 19 June 1967) is a Polish pianist and daughter of composer Henryk Górecki. She graduated with distinction from the Academy of Music in Katowice in 1991, studying under Andrzej Jasiński, and later continued her training with Wiktor Merzhanov. Górecka has received prizes at international piano competitions in Senigallia, Hamburg and Słupsk. Her extensive performance career includes prestigious venues such as the Berliner Philharmonie, Moscow Conservatory, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and National Philharmonic in Warsaw. She is also a professor at the Academy of Music in Katowice.

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