Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933–2010) was a Polish composer born in Czernica near
Rybnik who studied composition with Bolesław Szabelski at the State Higher
School of Music in Katowice from 1955 to 1960, becoming one of the leading
figures of the Polish avant-garde with works such as Epitafium (1958) and
Scontri (1960). He later taught composition at the Katowice Academy of Music and
served as its rector from 1975 to 1979. From the 1970s, he moved toward a
simpler, more lyrical and spiritually oriented musical language, producing major
works including Symphony No. 2, Copernican (197...