HOMAGE A GORECKI, PERE ET FILS
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In 2010, the great Polish composer, Henryk Górecki, died. In using his music and the music of his son, Mikolaj Górecki — who is also a composer profoundly connected to his heritage — I want to pay homage to a monumental name in Polish culture.
- Waldemar Bartkowski, guest choreographer
In four movements, Solitude, Desire, Dream and Deliverance, guest choreographer Waldemar Bartkowski honours the music of Górecki, father and son, with an original work that blends classical and modern dance.
Henryk Górecki was born in Silesia, a historical region of Central Europe located mainly in Poland, where three cultures coexisted: Polish, Czech and German. Górecki valued the multiculturalism of Poland, and remarked that, “the folk art, all the art, had no boundaries.” He was a leading composer of the Polish avant-garde in the 1950s, known for his startlingly minimalist “New Simplicity” style. By the 1990s, he was an international star: he wrote three major string quartets for the Kronos Quartet, and a 1992 recording of his Symphony No. 3, Opus 36 became the bestselling contemporary classical disc in history, selling more than a million copies and topping classical music charts in the U.S. and U.K.
Henryk’s son, Mikolaj Górecki, studied violin, piano and composition in Poland, and was awarded scholarships to the Banff Centre for the Arts before receiving his doctorate in composition from Indiana University. His works have been performed in Poland, New York, Montreal, Amsterdam, Slovenia and Edmonton.
International choreographer Waldemar Bartkowski, who is originally from Poland but is now based in France, has created ballets for companies throughout France, Belgium and Spain since 1990. As a dancer, Mr. Bartkowski started his career with the Grand Theatre of Poznan, Poland. He became a soloist with the Lille Opera House (France). and then was hired by Ballet du Nord’s Artistic Director Alphonso Cata as a principal dancer. Last season, he choreographed Chopin’s Hand for Citie Ballet. Mr. Bartkowski was guest choreographer at the Citie Ballet Summer Intensives in 2010 and 2011.