Henryk Mikołaj Górecki would turn 85 on December 6, 2018. On the occasion of his birthday, Warner Classics is releasing an album on which the musicians of Sinfonia Varsovia together with Jerzy Maksymiuk and the composer’s children – Mikołaj and Anna – have combined the forces of their talents and passion. Devoted to two generations of the famous musical family, the album Góreccy will be released on 7 December.

The CD is a recording of an extraordinary concert that took place on 16 October 2016 in the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio in Warsaw during the Tansman Festival. On that day, Sinfonia Varsovia under the direction of Jerzy Maksymiuk performed Two Tristan Preludes and Chorale – the last of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s hitherto unperformed works that was completed by his son. Mikołaj Górecki’s Orpheus and Eurydice was also performed for the first time that day. The last work of the concert and on the CD is Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s A Little Requiem for a Certain Polka, with Anna Górecka as soloist.

Performed by Sinfonia Varsovia and Jerzy Maksymiuk, the music of father and son astonishes the listener with its colourful contrasts and sincerity. Both the works that were heard for the first time and well-known pieces (the “Little Requiem for a Certain Polka”) comprise an authentic, multi-dimensional portrait of Henryk Mikołaj and his children – Anna and Mikołaj Górecki.

Media sponsors of the CD: TVP Kultura, Polish Radio Programme 2, Presto.