Henryk Górecki - Symphony No. 3 - Live 1977 Premiere Recording

Polish composer Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3 for soprano and orchestra (1976) is a conceptual work which utilizes three Polish texts to convey, through sorrow and loss, the emotional bond between a mother and her child. When Górecki premiered his 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' at the 1977 Festival of Contemporary Art in Royan, France, it was met with a polarizing reception. Most Polish critics lauded its simple beauty and emotional concept, whilst the Western critics present lambasted it as backward-looking and repetitive, comparing it to Górecki's earlier serial, dissonant, and modernist works. According to Górecki himself, the famed composer Pierre Boulez allegedly shouted "Merde!" during the concluding applause. Despite being recorded several more times, it did not raise Górecki's profile out of the obscurity of the musical avant-garde until a recording featuring the London Sinfonietta and the soprano Dawn Upshaw was released in 1992 on the Nonesuch label. The composition has since become critically acclaimed and cemented Górecki's status as one of the finest 'holy minimalist' composers alongside Arvo Pärt and John Taverner. Performed by the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden conducted by Ernest Bour, featuring soprano Stefania Woytowicz. Recorded live at the Festival of Contemporary Art in Royan, France on April 4th 1977.